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TO THE MERCANTILE AND INDUSTRIAL CLASSES. 

O^ - 



J^5^ [FIRST SERIES— No. 1.] AUGUST 15th, 1860. Price 15 Cxs. ^L^A) 



THE 



MEXICAN PAPERS. 



/' 



THE MEXICAN QUESTION, 



THE GREAT AMERICAN QUESTION, 



BtxsQMl %tmmBctncts, 



EDWARD E. DUNBAR. 

A SERIAL-ISSUED S E M I - M O N.T H L Y 



I^OS» & TOXJSEY, ±2X rSTassan Street, 

GENERAL AGENTS. 




NEW-YORK 
J. A. H. HASBROUCK & CO., PRINTERS. 180 BROADWAY 

^ 1860. 



0^ ' % 




COZSTTENTS OF irSTo. 1. 



PAGE. 
1 



XTRODITTORY NOTE, 

PERSONAL. 

Experience in Mexico, 

Recognition of the Constitmional Oovernmeut by tlie U. S. Minister, 
The Limits of Slavery in the United fetates, - - - - 

Slavery cannot be Propagated in Mexico, * 

Conversation with a Southern Senator on the subject of Slavery in Mexico, 14 

• . - 16 

The '• Irrepressible Conflict," 

PUBLIC OPINION ON MEXICO. ^^ 

TRANSLATION FROM THE RETUE bzs DUX MONDES. Paris, May 15. 1860. 19 

EDITORIAL REMARKS ox the Article from the French Review, - • 32 



/ 
L 

C 



THE 



MEXICAN PAPEPiS. 



BT 



ED^'ARD E. DUXBAR, 






NEW YOEK: 
J. A. H. HASBROrCK j. CO., PRINTERS, 

STATIO^^:KS> hall iso bkoadwat. 
1S60. 



Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1860, 

Bt EDWAED E. DUNBAR, 

In tlie Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for the 

Southern District of New York. 



/ 



THE 



MEXICAN- PAPEES. 



NOTE. 

lolely on my own resj 

No 



Tlie Mexican Papees are issued solely on my own resnon 
sAi rty and they will be entirely under my^conZl To 
polr^^cal party or individual interests, in this country or 
Mexico, have part or lot in the matter ^ 

The object of these publications is to draw the attention 
of the mercantile and industrial classes in the Un ted St^s 
o the national importance of the Mexican que t ou 15 
to place before them information respecting MeZ h ; peo 
pie and her institutions, with the view of^oiTectl , uMc' 
opinion on some highly important points, which, in my ,uck 
ment, are entirelv io-nored or tl,or„.f„i,i • ' ;" '"yjucig- 

subjects will be explaTned w^-th r^ ^?''T'''''^^^ '^'"'^ 
J iu ue explained with reference to the vital interests 

he American people have in Mexico, not omittin. to touch 
uggestively, upon those intimate relations which soonToi 
later, must He established between the two republi^; 
to MeV°°°™r'J'''* '^''^'^' tliroughout this couiitiy relative 
»°a:d c ^'"^ "'■r- '^ ' '^'''"^ '' public^acknowL 
eveiy thing appertaining to that country is berinnino- fZ 
manifest Itself ; and this is one great inducement ulder which 
r put forth such knowledge as I possess on the subTect o,S 

wm permit me to wholly occupy the great and grand field 
that IS open to one of literar, occupation. I writTwHh , f 

busmess man, brought up m a practical, hard school. My 



aim is to reach the common sense of the active, progressive, 
working masses, and to this end, I shall be compelled to 
say much that will not be very flattering to the politician, or 
the ix.litical parties of the day, whenever political matters are 
discussed, as they necessarily will be, in connection with tne 

mam subject. 

Having spent many years as a pioneer in those distant regions 
of which°I treat, I returned two years since to the point from 
which I emigrated— the city of New York. Cu-cumstances not 
altogether of my ow^n choosing, but having connection with busi- 
ness enterprises throughout the countries most recently cov- 
ered by the advancing wave of American civilization, brought 
me in contact with those who figure in what is called thepoUti- 
cal arena. The result of this contact, in my own mind, up to the 
present time, is, the discovery that our national legislature, our 
government officials— in short, our politicians— revolve in a 
sphere distinct from the people, and breathe an atmosphere that 
causes a feverish beating of the national pulse, and a danger- 
ous palpitation of the national heart. I do not discern the 
slightest difterence in the political status, or the political 
animm, of our great political parties— the one being just as 
ready to slaughter the common interests of the country, in the 
accomplishment of their o^vn particular and selfish ends, as the 
other. It appears as though the naiTowing down of our 
national politics to a single point, which common understand- 
ings and a low order of demagogues can grasp and ivield as a 
political hobby, has either dwarfed our gi'eat men down^ to 
pigmies, or driven them out of politics altogether. One thing 
is certain: our political sea must cast up something from its 
depths of a different, higher order than such as we now find 
drifting about on its surface, before our national government 
can be elevated to a respectable standard, and placed on a safe 
basis. No one or two men can work out this great achieve- 
ment of state. It must be accomplished by a powerful combi- 
nation of patriotic souls and great intellects, made up from the 
different sections of the country. 

It may be said now, that the country advances in >^pite 
of the government. Nothing but the indomitable persever- 



ance and the unresting energies, tlie intelligence and virtue 
of tlie masses, keeps us up and carries us onward, a united 
people. How long before the politicians will master this 
favorable and fortunate combination, is a question that may 
well start some serious reflections. There appears to be 
something like an "irrepressible conflict" going on between 
the illegitimate interests of the politicians, on the one side, 
and the legitimate interests of the people on the other, and 
as matters now progress, it looks as though the politicians 
might come ofl^ victorious. 

The treatment bestowed upon the Mexican question in this 
country (as well as in Europe), brings out some startling 
features in American politics, which it will be my endeavor to 
present to the public in their true light. 

The Mexican Papers will plead for the cause of liberty in 
Mexico, but not in a partisan spirit. 

Communications of reasonable length, calculated to interest 
and enlighten the public on the great question, whether in 
accordance with, or opposed to my individual opinions, shall 
have place in the columns of the Mexican Papers. 

Edward E. Dunbar. 



PEKSONAL. 

It is now twelve years since my experience with Mexico 
and the Mexican people commenced. Duiing this period I 
have travelled over a considerable portion of that country, and 
resided therein at intervals. I have been occupied in explor- 
ations, and in business connected with mining and trading 
interests throughout California, Arizona, along the Pacific 
coast, and in Mexico. My intercourse has been with all 
classes of the Mexican people, from the humblest Indian peon 
to the wealthiest Don in the land. The opportunities of study- 
mg Mexico and her people, which it has been my good fortune 
to enjoy, have, I trust, been improved to such an extent as will 



enable me to give to tLe public, sometbing relative to tbat ricli 
and beautiful country and its people, of an interesting and in- 
structive nature. . 

It is with the masses of the laboring population m Mexico 
that much of my experience lies. That class of inhabitants 
known as Puehlos Indians,^ and those of a grade higher, 
called i/ente de rmon,-f were for several years my servants and 
attendants in explorations throughout Northern Mexico, Ari- 
zona, and New Mexico, and they have labored for me m the 
principal branches of Mexican industry— mining and agricul- 

Whether as attendants or servants over the long and arid 
desert stretches of those unexplored and unknown regions, 
in contact with wild and ruthless hordes of savages, or as 
laborers in the mines and the field, I have found them faith- 
ful and industrious. My undertakings with this people 
have been attended with success ; and furthermore, I have, 
in numerous instances, experienced at their hands, that kind- 
ness and devotion which can only be founded on the highest 
decrree of generosity and courage of which our nature is capable. 
Tlfe knowledge I have gained of Mexico and Mexicans under 
these peculiar advantages, has given me views and opinions rela- 
tive to the country and people, somewhat different from those 
generally prevailing abroad. If my experience in that quarter 
of the world enables me to shed any light upon a momentous 
and difficult question, one of the main objects of this pubbca- 
tion will be attained. 

On returning to New York from the northern frontier of 
Mexico in 1858, I continued to take an active interest in Mex- 
ican affairs, and having resolved to visit the interior of Mexico, 
March, 1859, 1 was induced to undertake a Mexican coiTespon- 
dence with the New Yokk Times and with the London Times. 
For the space of six months, my letters fi'om Mexico appeared 
in the foi-mer journal over the signature of "Mitla." During 
this period, my communications to the London Times were 
what may be tei-med occasioTial I had the satisfaction of see- 

» Hnlf-civilized Indians, who live in villages. 
- People of reason 



ing my letters to tlie latter journal made tlie basis of its 
editorial remarks, favoring the liberal cause in Mexico, and an 
active, decided American policy in that country. 

It so happened that Mr. McLane was appointed minister to 
Mexico about this time, and we were companions on the voyage 
from New Orleans to Vera Cruz, at which latter place we ar- 
rived April 1, 1859. 

The Constitutional government located at Vera Cruz was 
then composed of the following parties : Bei^ito Juaeez, Presi- 
dent ; Melchoie Ocampo, Secretary of Foreign Affairs ; Leedo 
DE Tejada, Minister of Hacienda or Finance ; Santos Degol- 
LADO, Secretary of War ; and Manuel Euis, Minister of Jus- 
tice. The Liberal party comprehended the masses of the Mex- 
ican people. The Constitutional government was acknowledged 
by twenty out of the twenty-three states which compose the 
confederacy. The Liberals also held all the ports in the coun- 
try, and though far more numerous than their opponents, they 
were poor, exhausted, scattered over a vast extent of country, 
and with scarcely any means of cohesion which would enable 
them to throw any united and vigorous force against their 
enemies, who, compact, energetic, cunning and rich, were making 
a last desperate struggle to hold the power and wealth of ages. 
The Liberals of Mexico had made many unsuccessful attempts 
to break the chains that bound them. Domestic treachery and 
foreign oppression, outrage and abuse, had all combined to 
crifish the liberal-minded and patriotic. The bloody page of 
Mexican history is marked with a deeper stain at regular in- 
tervals, by the execution of those leading spirits, who, one after 
another, have espoused the cause of freedom and humanity in 
that benighted country. But now a revolution had occurred 
which struck at the diseased and rotten foundation of Mexican 
nationality. For the first time, a revolution had forced into the 
issue those deep-seated evils under which the nation had existed 
for more than three centuries. For the first time, a distinct and 
enduring line was drawn between the two parties ; the one 
struggling for healthy and vigorous progress according to the 
light of the age ; the other making wild and savage efforts to 
fasten upon the nation still greater oppression according to the 



teacliings of ages past. This latter pai-ty, now reduced to a 
mere faction of tlie people, liad its government in the city of 
Mexico. That government, usurpation, or whatever it may be ^ 
called, had its immediate origin in intrigues which overthrew 
CoMONFORT, who, as the representative of liberal principles, had 
attained power. 

The authority re-established by the churcli party represented, 
however, in all its parts, and in every particular, that ancient 
tyranny which for more than three centuries has caused 
Mexico to weep tears of blood. This government, in its 
declarations and acts, repudiated all intercourse, social and 
commercial, with tlie United States; and in all this, as well as 
in its murderous propensities and purposes, its determined and 
destructive despotism over its own people, its bitter hatred of 
Christianity and freedom — this wicked faction, this outrageous 
caricature or semblance of a human government, was recog- 
nized and sustained by England, France, and Spain. The 
representatives of these European powers were the open and 
active partisans of the Miramon, or church party government — 
inciting it to every excess in plundering and butchering tlie 
weak and defenceless people. They went far beyond the limits 
allowed diplomacy. At the very time Mr. McLane an^ived 
in Vera Cruz, the commanders of the English and French 
fleets were under orders to bombard that city, tbe seat of the 
Liberal government. 

There was, in fact, the most decided and positive interfer- 
ence in the affairs of Mexico on the part of England, France, 
and Spain. Tliese powers had united with the remnant of a 
despotic faction in Mexico, whose parentage was due to an- 
other continent and another age, and declared to the United 
States, in the most open and oflensive manner : " You have ??<? 
rights here; andiieither your power ^ injhience^ or interests^ shall 
he extended over this landr 

This great and glaring fact, this anti- American, anti-repub- 
lican feeling and policy, Mr. McLane encountered at the veiy 
outset of his mission. Could he, then, unite Avith those repre- 
sentatives of European powers in acknowledging a party whose 
very existence depended on European and despotic influence, 



and the severance of every thing like social, political, and com- 
mercial intercourse with the United States ? Or, should Mr. 
McLane have declined to act under these circumstances, and 
stated to the people and government of the United States: 
" The government holding the city of Mexico hate us and our 
institutions ; they wish to form no relations with our people 
and government, but desire the establishment of a despotic 
power in their midst, under the protection of Europe ; and in 
this they are openly and actively sustained by England, France, 
and Spain. The liberals of Mexico are mostly of Indian blood. 
The popular cry is, that they are a good-for-nothing, thieving, 
plundering race ; at war with all the principles of Christianity 
and freedom, and deserving of no sort of sympathy or aid on 
the part of the United States. We had better avoid all inter- 
ference, and let matters take theii^ course." 

Mr. McLajste acted no such unchristian, inhilman part as 
this; but on the 6th of April, 1859, formally recognized the 
constitutional government of Mexico, represented by Presi- 
dent JuAEEZ. The ceremony took place in one of the long 
rooms of the Palacio Municipal. 

President Juarez was escorted by a body of the regular 
army, and surrounded by his principal civil and military offi- 
cers. Mr. McLane was attended by his secretary, and a suite 
of American gentlemen. The scene was in the highest degree 
solemn and impressive. The historical interest attached to the 
place where the great filibuster Coetez commenced his career 
of conquest ; the fair Anglo-Saxon, face to face with the swar- 
thy Toltec, both standing on the common platform of religion, 
education, and constitutional freedom, and recognizing each 
other in the bonds of peace and friendship, on behalf of theii- 
respective countries — combined to form one of those romantic 
and important events which occur so frequently in the history 
of the country. " Viewed in all its bearings, this was a sublime 
act. In tracing the genealogy of the race of Juarez, we are 
carried back to the obscure and mysterious past of Mexico, 
from which the veil will never be lifted to mortal eyes; yet 
dim tradition, the spiritual index of the untutored, unlettered 
children of nature, points to the ancient Asiatics as the pro- 



8 

geuitors of tlie Mexican people from whom Juarez sprung. By 
an extraordinary series of events, tliis pure Indian, now a man 
of education and accomplisliments, having risen from mysteri- 
ous depths, is found at the head of the nation in its last great 
struggle for life, liberty, and happiness. This Indian President 
of distracted Mexico — he who represents the Past as well as 
the Present — in behalf of the wretched remnant of a people 
of unknown antiquity, which the despotism of ages has not 
crushed out of existence, cries out to the youngest, freshest, 
and most powerful free government on earth for sympathy and 
support. The representative of that free government responds 
in the name of Christianity and humanity, and acknowledges 
before all the world, the right of this down-trodden and de- 
spised people to possess and enjoy that priceless boon to man — 
civil and religious liberty. No such spectacle has been wit- 
nessed for ages, and may not be again for ages to come. But, 
sad to relate, this act on the part of the American minister 
proved to be in advance of the time. The American people 
and Congress virtually placed the seal of condemnation on the 
sublime action of their representative in Mexico. 

But that act of recognition extended to the Liberal govern- 
ment of Mexico will have the prominent and favorable place 
in history which its importance and merits demand. Aside 
fi'om its grandeur in a moral point of view, it was a bold, clear, 
and decided announcement of the right of the American people 
and government to protect their interests abroad, and extend 
their institutions and influence, especially on this continent, 
even against all despotic agencies, and the opposition of foreign 
powers combined. 

This recognition on the part of the American minister finally 
resulted in a treaty with the government recognized. But the 
relations thus formed by Mr. McLane with the liberal govern- 
ment of Mexico, have been denounced and repudiated by the 
people and government of the United States. There is j)roba- 
bly no instance on record where the simple diplomatic efforts 
of an American envoy to establish fi'iendly and profitable rela- 
tions with a foreign power, have been attacked with such bitter 
malignity and rude violence as in the case of Mr. McLane. Out 



9 

minister to Mexico, wherever known, is regarded as a Mgli- 
toned gentleman, of decided talent and tliorougli education. 
His integrity of character is unimpeachable, and his patriotism 
no one doubts ; and yet, had this functionary been a very dolt 
in diplomacy, as corrupt as the vilest of politicians, and a black- 
hearted traitor to his country, he could not have been more 
heartily abused than he has been in his eiforts to sustain the 
American name and character abroad, and the cause of liberty 
in Mexico, and create permanent relations of amity and com- 
merce between the two countries. Whether such extraordi- 
nary conduct on the part of the American people and Con- 
gress, so contrary to their professions and the spirit of the age, 
arises from apathy, ignorance, partisan feeling in politics, or the 
lack of any thing like real sympathy with freedom in other 
countries, time only can determine. At the present moment 
we are united with despotic agencies to smother the new-born 
hopes of freedom in Mexico, and cast the people back into 
darkness and despair. The United States now occupy the 
meanest position toward Mexico that it is possible for a power- 
ful and free republic to hold toward a weak and despairing 
neighbor nation — a position that will prove a sin and a shame 
to us in the future. 

My own interests, of a purely commercial nature, required 
my presence in Mexico, and, as previously stated, I left New 
York for Vera Cruz in March, 1859, before Mr. McLane was 
appointed minister. It was, therefore, an unexpected pleasure 
to meet him at New Orleans en route to the country of his 
new and important labors. I found Mr. McLane an ardent 
student in Mexican affairs, seizing with avidity all information 
relative to matters in that country. My own stock of knowl- 
edge and experience was at his service, and I exerted all my 
powers to induce him to recognize the Juarez government. I 
do not know that I had one particle of influence with the min- 
ister. I hope I had. The urgent necessity of the case was, 
however, so vividly apparent to any cordial hater of a bloody, 
pagan despotism, that outside influences were unnecessary. 

A combination of favorable circumstances placed me on a 
friendly and confidential footing with President Juarez and 
2 



10 

his cabinet, during my sojourn of three months in Vera 
Cruz. I had an excellent opportunity to become acquainted 
with the 'personeUe^ the views, feelings, and purposes of those 
who represented the Liberal party and government of Mexico. 
I found them a band of patriots, who had pledged their lives, 
their fortunes, and their sacred honor to the cause of fi-eedom. 
I found them of exalted spirit, pure in private life, and well edu- 
cated. It must be said, how^ever, that the leaders in the Lib- 
eral ].>ai'ty are not so eminently practical as the immediate 
necessities of their cause require them to be. With a thorough 
knowledge of the tlieory of free institutions, and firmly con- 
vinced of the justice of their cause, and of its destined success, 
they will not condescend, so to speak, to adopt that energetic, 
practical course with men and things, both at home and abroad, 
which is necessary to cii^cumvent and counteract their wily and 
unscrupulous enemy. The officials in the Liberal party have 
never taken the first step toward disseminating information 
relative to the condition and wants of Mexico — the politics of 
the country, cause of the present civil war, <fec., <fec. The 
whole civilized world is banded together against the Liberals 
of Mexico, and yet they have never explained their true po- 
sition, nor sent forth a plea in their own behalf. They also 
retain too many ancient abuses in the common afi^airs of life, 
even where they hold power. For instance, trade and com- 
merce in Vera Cruz are hampered by formalities and other 
hindrances that ought to be immediately abolished. 

But all these evils incidental to the old system, will disap- 
pear in due time. No one of ordinary sensibilities, can have 
personal intercourse with those leaders of the Liberal party 
who have suffered so much, and struggled so long against such 
fearfid odds, without feeling that they are actuated by that 
true, deep, and eternal love for their country and fellow men, 
which will eventually be the means of redeeming the nation. 
Though they may commit errors, and grr.ve ones, they are 
right at bottom, and deserving not only of a large charitj'', 
but a world-wide sympathy and support, No one can con- 
verse with the "little Indian," as President Juaeez is some- 
times sneeringly called, without being impressed with his deep 



11 

and determined patriotism, his nnflincliing firmness, and incor- 
ruptible integrity. Constitutionally, lie is not very energetic ; ( 
but tlie moderate course, or, as it may be called, tlie Fabian ^ 
policy wLicli lie pursues, and wbicli appears to be dictated by 
Ms judgment as well, may in the end prove the wisest and 
most successful . It has that aj)pearance now ;' and the liberal- 
minded in eveiy quarter should at least desire that these patriots 
and their party, might have the opportunity vouchsafed to 
them of regenerating their degraded and unhappy country. 

Views and feelings of this nature occupied my mind when 
in Vera Cruz. I also became most thoroughly impressed with 
the importance of the Mexican question in its bearing upon the 
policy and action of the United States. It appeared to me 
that the time had come for the United States government to 
define its position with regard not only to the belligerent par- 
ties in Mexico, but toward those European powers who were 
so officiously intermeddling with the affairs of that country. 
The relation in which the Mexican question stood to the great 
question of slavery, which has periodically convulsed the 
United States during the past forty years, was another point of 
the highest importance. I had my owm peculiar views on this 
subject — views acquired in practical business life and not in 
the political arena. I never could tolerate the doctrine that 
man has the right to hold property in man. Education and 
association, as well as the natural love of freedom and hatred 
of oppression, or the claim to the right to oppress, made me an 
enemy to slavery everywhere and in every form. At the 
same time, I could not be unmindful of the fact that human 
slavery was one of the corner-stones in the foundation of 
this Union, placed there by the fathers of the confeder- 
acy, and upon which a structure has arisen which towers 
up before the whole earth, and out of which has grown 
a question — that of slavery in the United States — ^the so- 
lution of which involves a greater amount of property, more 
human life, and higher interests to the world at large, than 
ever before clustered around any human problem in any 
age. Viewed thus, the question of slavery in the United 
States has an awful aspect, and on the face of things, it 



12 

appears that wisdom almost siiperliuman is needed to insm'e 
peace and safety to our common country, in its solution. But 
it may be that this result is to come from the foolishness of 
those who call themselves wise. It may be that in the narrow 
views, the paucity of intellect and the general degradation of 
politics, as developed by the politicians in our day, or states- 
9neHj as they are called by their friends, Providence designs not 
to raise up any one man, or any class of men, of sufficient scope 
and power to grasp and wield the subject, and bring it to an 
issue at once — an issue w^hich could only be of a character too 
fearful to contemplate. A greed for office, an insane passion for 
power amounting to a sjDecies of insanity, has seized upon the 
leaders of our great jjolitical parties, and for some years j)ast 
they have been driving the country on to the dreaded issue at 
a fearful rate. 

My own belief is, that up to the present moment, the limits 
of slavery have never been extended or diminished by agitation 
or legislation. I believe that expediency and profit, without 
regard to the Constitution of the United States or any princi- 
ple of right or wrong, have marked out the boundaries of 
slave and free territory in these United States. The Missouri 
Compromise and the Wilmot Proviso, the Fugitive Slave Law 
and Kansas-Nebraska Bill, Lecompton and Anti-Lecompton, 
are all, as I conceive, so many abstractions, having no real effect 
on the practical operation of the institution, or the final and 
grand result. Slavery exists in these United States at the 
present moment, precisely where it would exist had all these 
legislative acts, these political will-o'-the-wisps, never been 
known. And within these limits slavery will exist until 
economy and safety demand, its eradication. 

From my observation and experience in the fi'ontier slave 
states, in California, New-Mexico, Arizona, and Mexico, I am 
convinced that our domestic institution of slavery has found its 
limit; or, in. other words, these United States, or any portion 
thereof, cannot, by legislation, backed by any amount of phys. 
ical force, carry slavery in any direction beyond the line where 
it already exists. If the people could comprehend and believe 
this statement, it would be like oil upon the troubled waters. 



13 



I liave liad much discussion with members of Congress and 
senators on this point the past year, and find most of them, 
leading Republicans especially, have little or no knowledge of 
the subject, and that their political course is based on fatally 
erroneous theories. A leading Republican senator once said to 
me in conversation: " But for a good Whig administration at 
the time California was admitted into the Union, she would 
now be a slave state." Mr. Seward labors to convey the same 
idea in his last speech, when he says : " Under the auspicious in- 
fluence of a Whig success, California and New Mexico appeared 
before Congress as labor states." This is a good specimen of 
the knowledge and the logic this class of politicians bring to 
bear on that part of the great question. I begged to differ from 
the senator, and gave him my reasons for so doing. I told him 
that I was one of the earliest pioneers to California, and took an 
active part in bringing order out of chaos in that region. Any 
one who was on the spot, knows full well that slave labor could 
no more mingle with the element that emigrated to California, 
than oil can mix with water. No amount of coercion, either 
moral or physical, on the part of the United States, could ever 
have established slavery in California. No administration at 
Washington, no political party in the United States, had any 
thing to do with framing the constitution of California, or 
making her what she is in respect to slavery. Expediency and 
profit settled that question in California, as they have more 
recently settled it in the newly acquired territories of New 
Mexico and Arizona, and as they will settle it in Mexico. 

Negro slavery in Mexico, though established and sustained 
by adepts in the business— Spaniards— never flourished. In 
some districts, the owners voluntarily gave the slaves their 
liberty, and the system had nearly died out from natural causes, 
when, in 1829, it was formally abolished by the Mexican Con- 
gress. We now find a laboring population in Mexico of nearly six 
millions. The great portion of these are of Indian blood, and 
the laborers are generally known as peons. The labor of these 
people under a free system, is found to be cheaper and more 
efficient than slave labor. Here is one of the insurmountable 
barriers to the entrance of negro slaves into Mexico fi-om the 



14 

United States ; and until the millions of laborers wlio now in- 
habit Mexico are removed, that barrier will exist. Another 
insurmountable obstacle to the introduction of negro slavery 
into Mexico, is the fact that the negro affiliates with the com- 
mon Mexican, who has the Indian's natural and unconquer- 
able hatred of slavery, and there is no safety for negro slave 
.property among or in the neighborhood of that people. Slaves 
have the s^Tupathy of all dasses of Mexicans, and they always 
afford the fugitive assistance and protection. The insecurity 
of slave property in Western Texas by reason of its contiguity 
to Mexico, has reduced slaveiy in that part of the state to a 
merely nominal affiiir. 

For these, and other reasons of minor importance, it is clearly 
evident that slavery cannot be re-established in any portion of 
the territory now comprehended within the limits of the re- 
public of Mexico ; and yet this great fact is not believed or 
landerstood at the North. Most of the Republican leaders 
mth whom I have conversed on the subject, I regret to say 
refuse to tolerate any such fact. It certainly does not favor 
the " iiTepressible conflict" doctrine. 

The South comprehends this matter much better than the 
North. Southern senators are generally well posted. A con- 
versation which I held with a leadino^ senator from the South, 
in March last, was so j^articularly interesting that I made notes 
of it at the time. We were speaking of the Mexican treaty, 
and I remarked : 

"The Republican senators seem disposed to take up the 
treaty vtdth a pair of tongs, and view it at arm's length, sus- 
piciously." 

" Yes," replied the senator ; " they are endeavoring to find a 
cat under the meal-tub — but the treaty speaks for itself; they 
ought to know what a treaty means, what its stipulations 
portend." 

" But, senator, it is not strange that the Republicans should 
view the treaty with suspicion, since the most prominent fea- 
ture in Mr. Buchanan's administration has been the acquisition 
of Mexican territory, which they all believe will lead to the ex- 
tension of slavery in that direction." 



15 

" They need not be alarmed on that head," said the senator, 
" that may be Mr. Buchanan's 23olicy ; but it is not my policy, 
or the policy of other Southern statesmen. We understand 
the subject better, and Mexico is not the direction in which we 
ever expected to extend slavery. We will not give Mr. Bu- 
chanan power to acquire Mexican territory." 

" Do you not believe, senator, that it is practicable to intro- 
duce slavery into Mexico?" 

" No, sir ; we know that we cannot carry our negroes into 
that country, nor can we make slaves of its millions of abo- 
rigines. The peon labor is adapted to the country ; there is 
no prejudice against the negro in Mexico, consequently there 
is no profit or safety in slave property in that country." 

" It is certainly new to me — and I believe to the Northern 
public — that yourself and others in the South have this under- 
standing of the subject; nevertheless, it is precisely the light 
in which I have been brought to view the matter after ten 
years' observation and experience." 

" It may be new to the JSTorthern public," said the senator. 
"If slavery could have been carried into Mexico, we would 
have had the country longnago. We did have it once, and 
gave it up." 

" You did not know what to do with the elephant, when 
you got him," I remarked. 

" Precisely ; we had our own man, Mr. Polk, for president ; 
we had a majority in Congress, with Mr. Calhoun on the lead. 
What did Calhoun say at that time ? ^ Mexico is forbidden 
-fruitJ We voted against the appropriation for acquiring Cali- 
fornia because we believed it woidd come in as free territory, 
and know better than to get any more Mexican territory, out 
of which to niake free states." 

" I am more and more astonished at what you tell me. The 
North is certainly acting under the full conviction that in 
endeavoring to obtain Mexican territory, Mr. Buchanan is 
entirely influenced by the leading public men of the South. 
You give me to understand that the contrary is the fact." 

" Certainly I do," replied the senator. " Mr. Buchanan, i i 
his efforts to obtain Sonora, Chihuahua, &c., is acting wholly 



16 

under the California pressure. That interest goes for extend- 
ing the limits, and creating the necessity for expending any 
amount of money in that quarter." 

" It is natural," I remarked, " that California should desire to 
extend our Pacific coast limits ; and this Mexican treaty, as I 
conceive, will open Arizona, which is now worthless, and, in 
fact, give to California the trade of Sonora, and all that region 
of country." 

"I agree with you there perfectly," remarked the senator. 
" I go for the treaty on purely national grounds. The direct 
effect of the treaty is to extend Northern commerce and manu- 
factures; and the indirect effect is to benefit the South by 
causing an increased demand for our productions. It is very 
strange that those Northern men cannot see it in its true light." 

I was taken quite by surprise by these ft'ank and intelligent 
remarks of this Southern senator. They came nearer to truth 
and statesmanship than any thing I had found in my inter- 
course Avith many of the distinguished political leaders in dif 
ferent parts of the country, but more especially in Washington. 

Believing that, with the admission of Texas into the Union, 
slaveiy found its limit on thif continent, and sealed its 
own doom within the Union by that act, I regard the 
"irrepressible conflict" declaration as untrue, uncalled for, 
and in the highest degree mischievous. It is true that a con- 
flict has existed between fi'ee and slave labor in all parts of 
the world since man was commanded to earn his daily bread 
by the sweat of his brow. But this conflict has ceased to 
exist in Europe, as well as in some other parts of creation, and 
wherever it does not exist, the conflict may be termed a re- 
pressed conflict. Here, in the United States, the further ex- 
tension of slavery is so hopeless, and the predominance of free 
territory is so rapidly increasing over slave territory, that what- 
ever conflict exists between the two systems of labor, should 
be termed the repressihle conflict. Surely, a man must be worse 
than an infidel, who will, in view of all the facts, deliberately 
come forward before the people of the United States, at this 
day, and tell them that an " irrepressible conflict" is going on 
in their midst, which must terminate in giving the entire do- 



17 



mam to free labor or to slave labor; that the graiu-fields in 
ton-fields of the South by freemen. 

hJ^^f-^^1 '^''"*""'' ^° ^t''^™? ^"id searing to all sound 
behef in the progress of freedom; this gospel of uneasines- 
thrs essence of the spi..it of oppression, l^L, and "u dTr- 
I. called .^,,,,„,^,^, ,,, ;,^ ^^^^^^; J^ teachers a" held 
up as shmmg hghts-honest and safe guides for the great 
American republic ! ^ ^ 

If the "irrepressible conflict" declaration had been amliprl 
to the stmggle existing between the two great polSl S 

rlZr\7 " "' *'"' '"'' ^""^^ «f tl^^ "o-^fliet that is 

W ^' 1 i'/*'''' '" ''" '"-epi-essible state, and the prospect is 

that under different names and on various pretexts invented bv 

our race of demagogues, it will thus continue ™tT t h^ 

disaster^ to he country. The sectional system of hnZn 
dayei-y IS dying out, but the principle in human natL uZ 
which he contest for spoils is based, is indestructibl J" 
lation to this matter, California presents to her sistt states t 

:S^r:zt-:--;a:S 

ents a strange spectacle to the world when she allow T' ^t 
to be bound hand and foot, and used by the st pow"! 
sustammg a system of labor which she will not IT T , 
her own borders. Oregon and Washl^^^SC^W 
been m the same position. The teriitfry of N^w ^i;!! 
alsomamtams a peculiar attitude as regards this JLf!";: 

iiarly m 1859 the legislature passed an aet protecting slave 



18 

property and forbidding tlie emancipation of slaves witliin tlie 
limits of the territory. There are no slaves in the teii'itory at 
the present time, except a few captive Indians, and here and 
there a negro owned by army officers ; and every intelligent in- 
dividual in that region knows that practical slavery never can be 
carried into New Mexico ; and yet that territory legislates in 
favor of slavery and votes under its influence in Congress. Ari- 
zona, if organized under a territorial government, w^ould doubt- 
less follow her example. This extraordinary and seemingly 
anomalous state of affairs in these distant states and territories, 
is explained by the two words. Federal Pateonage, dispensed, 
it is true, by the slave power. But this is no evidence of an 
" irrepressible conflict " between the systems of free and slave 
labor ; on the contrary, it is irrefragable evidence that the con- 
test is for power and spoils. Federal patronage holds territory 
that a Higher Power has decreed. shall not be given over to 
slavery. 



PUBLIC OPINION ON MEXICO. 

The interest with which we have watched the progress of 
the present revolution in Mexico, and the fate of those relations 
which the American minister, Mr. McLaiste, sought to establish 
with that country, has doubtless caused us to be particularly 
heedful of every expression of public opinion on these subjects. 
This watchful interest has caused us to view with astonish- 
ment, not unmixed with chagrin, the manner in which every 
sound arg-ument, and every statement of facts in favor of the 
liberal cause in Mexico, has been opposed throughout those 
countries called Christian and enlightened, especially the Uni- 
ted States. No sooner has any thing of this nature fallen 
upon the public eye, than perversions, false statements, or flat 
denials, have sprung up in all quarters; and for the time 
being, truth has been overcome by error. In evidence of this, 
we shall publish in the first series of the Mexican Papers, a 
collection of articles on our subject, selected from a mass of 
matter emanating from high and distinguished sources. The 



19 



quoted extracts and articles are chosen ivith reference to tl,» 
sources and the localities from which they en.ana e and w 
pubhsh them as furnishing a fair exposition of public opinbn 
bo h m this country and Europe, relative to Mexico ^ ' 

Papers, in order to bring the subject squarely before the 
pubhc at the outset; and only such reference Jill be made 
to then- promment points as is necessary for that purpose 

An article entitled "Thi. Revoluiioks. a^b Die™ of 
SoHTH America" that appeared in the Sev.e Z^Z 
Monde., Pans May 15, 1860, is the first of our ZefZ 
Thirty pages of the Fi-ench semi-monthly are occupied wTth 
matter appertaining to the Spanish-Am^erican coSe t 
which an attempt is made to set forth some of the ;th 
uologica peculiarities of the people, their religious and po 

x;py'r*L;r'''°"*"'^^' ^"' ^^^^^^^^ ^^^-^^ ^^ *^- 

We publish that portion relating to Mexico: 

^ [Translated f.o„> ,te Re.ue rf« Deur Monies f„ .he Mbxioa. Pappk, ] 

'It IS now half a century since the Spanish-American re 
publics commenced their efforts to obtain independencrand 

teiminate ? This is the problem of the whole of South Amer 
-a; and to such a question the most instructive response "" 
glaiice cast upon the recent agitations in all those countries 
ca thlr;' v'tt' ""'^ W-ld-Mexico, Central An r 

orf^on the P f " T '*'™^'^ ^°'"'"''-' --^ -hW^ 
01 del on the Pacific, even to Peru and Chili-the republics 

I'lirsr ''-'' '-''' ''' ^'- " ^-^ -■ 

'^:^/t^Z^' "^^ ^ ^'-^ °^ ^^^ ->-i-s and 

•'MEXICO has a good right to pre-eminence in the historv 

shetsTaTserth "• h'"*^^'*^ '^^^""^ ^" independent tS, 
She has passed through many singular vicissitudes. We find 



20 

her an empire in 1822 under Iturbide — an empire quite epliera- 
eral — continuing less than one year. Since that period, the 
question lias been, shall Mexico be a federative or a imitarian 
republic ?* shall she be governed by the conservatives, or shall 
she pass under the sway of the radicals, who, by a hizarre 
euphony, are called puros f 

" The revolutions and the presidencies, the successive jc>?rt7i* 
of regeneration which this question has brought forth, can 
scarcely be recounted. The difficulties which have for some 
time agitated Mexico, and which the civil war has thrown to the 
surface more prominent than ever, are not the immediate cause 
of the perpetual conflicts. These difficulties have their origin 
several years back in the revolution against the last dictator, 
General Santa Ana. 

" The prime mover in this revolution was General Alvarez, 
an old Indian, who has passed his life in the state of Guerrero, 
Avhere he was raised under a soii; of feudal sovereignty, and who 
dragged his bands of IndiiSiVi pintos-\ even to the city of Mexico. 
The result of this movement was clearly the predominance of 
radical democracy. The evidence of the triumph of the revo- 
lution was the constitution of 1857, which re-established the 
democratic idea. Finally, a man of the moment, M. Comon- 
fort, who at first, was nothing more than a lieutenant under 
General Alvarez, became president so soon as the old Indian 
Alvarez regained the state of Guerrero, with his bands of sav- 
ages. Success more ephemeral than ever ! Between the rad- 
icals who suspected him of moderate tendencies, and a conser- 
vative reaction which already appeared menacing, M. Comon- 
fort despaired. This was in 1858. A military pronuncia- 
mento^ started in the first instance by the president, was soon 
after turned against him, overthrowing this powerless dictator 
in a day, and giving the power to a new chief. General Felix 
Zuloaga, who assumed the government, sustained by the army, 
and invested with the mission to carry out iheplan called the 
'•'•plan of Tacuhaya^'' destined, like all the others, to effect the 

* La question e-it dc savoir si ]e Mexique sera une r^publique federative ou una 
r^publique unitaire. 
t Spotted Indians. 



21 

regeneration of Mexico. This was a success for tlie conserva- 
tive party, whicli tlius suddenly saw itself delivered from tlie 
domination of the puros. Unhappily, the democratic party, 
conquered in the city of Mexico, appeared in the provinces and 
raised the flag of the constitution of 1857. The vice-presi- 
dent of the republic, a little Indian named Benito Juarez, 
organized 2^ pseudo-legal government in the name of the constitu- 
tion ; after having wandered from city to city, he finally estab- 
lished himself in Vera Cruz, which city the revolutionary party 
was fortunate enough to secure. 

" We have thus two governments in Mexico. The one estab- 
lished in the city of Mexico has the army, the clergy and all 
the conservative interests. Though not a power of regular 
origin, it was, after all, master of the capital and the only 
power recognized by the foreign governments, the representa- 
tives of which immediately came forward and established 
diplomatic relations with it. The other government, an expres- 
sion of the legal revolutionist who was conquered in the city 
of Mexico, is personified in M. Benito Juarez, master of Vera 
Cruz, the principal port of the republic. He laid his hands 
upon the custom-houses and possessed himself of a pecuniary 
resource which enabled him to live and wait. In default of 
an army, he found in the provinces, partisans who came forth 
to defend him — old governors, lawyers transformed into gen- 
erals, chiefs of bands always ready to pillage and ravage the 
country under any flag. The cause called " constitutional" was 
at the same time supported in the north by a personage no less 
curious in these last years, Santiago VidauiTi, of Indian blood, 
opinionated and energetic, his head fiill of confused ideas and 
still more of ambition. M. Vidaurri ha« passed thirty years in 
opening the way to power ; and he has reached power, being 
master of the provinces adjoining the United States, which 
provinces he has threatened more than once to detach from 
Mexico, and form a new republic, to be called " Sierra Madre^ 
For the moment, he was the auxiliary of Juarez. 
*' The struggle was then inaugurated. The first necessity of 
the government, which held the city of Mexico, was evidently 
to break down the combination of resistances by which it was 



22 

surrounded, in order to pacify tlie republic, and to organize it 
after some mode a little more regular. 

" In the state of Jalisco, on the north, a division of the amiy, 
under the orders of two young and energetic officers, Osollo 
and Miramon, obtained some success. Osollo brought many 
Constitutional chiefs to capitulate, captured several cities, and 
was pursuing the campaign victoriously, when he suddenly fell 
in battle. This was a loss to the government of Mexico, for 
Osollo was an officer of capacity and resolution of whom they 
stood in great need. This loss \vas, however, repaired by the 
presence in the army of the north, of a man still quite young, 
equally vigorous, and who at the same time had taken an im- 
poi-tant part in the affairs of Mexico. This was the General 
Miguel Mii'amon, who, up to this time, had been the lieutenant 
of Osollo, and who now assumed the highest rank by the death 
of his superior. Miramon took the direction of the war with 
new energy. Gifted with a quick military intelligence, and 
full of confidence in himself, he evinced an indefatigable ac 
tivity, beating the factions in all encounters, and elevating to 
ascendency the conservative party, in such a manner as to turn, 
by degrees, all eyes upon the young general whom nothing 
could resist. 

" The victories of Miramon unfortunately produced no politi- 
cal result. While the army of the north was well conducted, 
and beat the Constitutionalists, the army of the east, com- 
manded by Echeagaray, and directed against Vera Cruz, lost 
time in its powerless operations. The government of Mexico 
showed itself destitute of all spirit of initiation ; it failed in 
expedients, and drew no profit from advantages obtained by 
the army of the north. General Zuloaga, the president, ele- 
vated to power in 1858, developed deplorable mediocrity as a 
statesman, and soon came to be regarded with universal dis- 
respect and distinist. This resulted in a kind of equilibrium 
between the government in Mexico, in the name of which 
Miguel Miramon followed his successes so uselessly, and tlie 
government which continued to live in Vera Cruz, and embold- 
ened by the ineffectual operations directed against it. All the 
advantages which appeared to favor the power of Zuloaga 



23 

tlie recognition by tiie corps diplomatique^ and tlie successes 
of an able general, served in no degree to decide tlie question 
between tlie parties. This peculiar state of affairs brought 
fresh disasters upon Mexico. General Echeagaray, instead of 
turning his efforts against Vera Cruz, which he was charged to 
take, got up an insurrection against President Zuloaga, from 
whom he held his powers. Echeagaray made his movement at 
Ayotla, in publishing, according to custom, a new political J9 to. 
The 23d of December, 1858, General Robles Pezuela, com- 
mander of the garrison in Mexico, put forth in his turn d.'plan^ 
which was nothing more than that of Ayotla, a little modified. 
Zuloaga had just time to find refuge with the British legation, 
when Kobles became master of the capital and of the govern- 
ment. The intent of this prommcimnento^ the offspring of uni- 
versal disorder, was the fusion, or the reconciliation of the two 
contending parties. A committee was speedily nominated, 
consisting of General Mariana Salas, the lawyer CastanSda, 
and General Casanova. A meeting of one hundred and fifty 
notables took place a few days after, to elect a provisional 
president, until the permanent organization of the republic by 
a congress in which all parties should be represented. Two 
things remained to be known : the first, how M. Juarez would 
rej)ly, in the name of the Constitutionalists, to this offer of 
conciliation addressed to him ; second, what would be the atti- 
tude of Miramon in view of the events about to take place. 
M. Juarez replied mth disdain to the propositions transmitted 
to him. As for Miramon, he was far away, and at the hour 
even when this crisis flashed upon Mexico, he gained a decided 
victory over one of the Constitutional chiefs, Santos Degol- 
lado. One thing was, however, apparent. Upon the com- 
mander of the army of the north depended, in a great measure, 
the success of the movement in the city of Mexico. This crisis 
even augmented the importance of the young general, and his 
star was so completely in the ascendant, that when the junta 
assembled, on the 15th of January, 1859, to elect a provisional 
president, the majority united upon him. Miramon received 
fifty-two votes, and Robles forty-six. Miramon, who had now 
quitted the army, found himself elected — without his knowing 



24 

it — supreme chief of the republic, in place of Zuloaga, revo- 
lutionarily deposed. It is quite characteristic that, at the time 
of this election, no one knew even the opinions of Miramon 
l-elative to recent events. 

" It proved, however, that the commander in the north ener- 
getically condemned the military sedition that had overthrown 
Zuloao-a. As a conservative, he refused to be associated in a 
movement which was nothing more than an impolitic advance 
made to the revolutionary party. As a military man, he was 
exasperated by the act which made no account of the blood 
shed by his soldiers. Miramon thus replied to the overture 
made to him by Robles in order to obtain his adhesion. It was 
also in the same disposition that he received at Guadalajara the 
notice of his election. Could he suffer himself to be pur- 
chased by the bribe offered to his ambition, and would he 
accept the benefit of a movement, the nature of which he con- 
dentned ? None knew his designs. Perhaps he knew not him- 
self what he would do. Drawing near to Mexico without too 
much haste, Miramon arrived at that city on the 21st of Jan- 
uary, 1859, and all began to perceive that the young officer 
who had departed nearly unknowTi, returned in a few months 
the master. This was a new personage in the political history 
of the Mexican republic — a personage truly remarkable — who, 
at the age of twenty-six years had come to be something like 
dictator without any manifestation of eagerness and without 
any intrigue. It is not generally known that this man who has 
appeared on the stage within a year, and who now acts one of 
the principal parts in Mexican affairs, is of French origin. His 
family is of Beam and belongs to the noblesse. They emigra- 
ted to Spain in the last century; the grandfather of Don 
Miguel Miramon went to Mexico as aid-de-camp to one of the 
viceroys; his father, M. Bernardo Mu'amon, married in the 
country and there remained, and he is now one of the oldest 
Mexican generals. The actual president, born of this mixture 
of French and Spanish blood, has been a student of the mili 
tary college of Chepultepec. He commenced his career in 
fighting against the North Americans, but in 1858 he was only 
known as a young officer noted for his bravery. The cam- 



25 

paigu, tlie direction of which fell to him on the death of 
Osollo, revealed the possession of the gift of command, extra- 
ordinary firmness, promptitude, decision and brilliant valor, 
united to a certain reserve in his acts and words. It is by 
these qualities that Miramon is able to inspire his soldiers wifcii 
that entire confidence which they have in him, and which 
. culminated in the support of the political world of Mexic >. 
Thus, being master of the position, his arrival was awaited 
with lively anxiety. Miramon arrived in Mexico the 21st Jan- 
uary, 1859, without escort, and avoiding all official demonstra- 
tion, he goes directly to his father. He arrived in no very 
amicable mood, aware of his power and concealing nothing of 
his severe sentiments. He received every one with liauteur. 
Old General Salas volunteered to tell him that if he wished 
to restore Zuloaga he would receive no support. Miramon 
replied that he relied on his sword only. He at once ordered 
General Robles, an officer of the engineer corps, to prepare to 
accompany him on a campaign which he meditated against Vera 
Cruz. Old generals, and others, murmured greatly at the domi- 
neering manner of this youth of twenty-six years, this mucliacho 
as they called him, for they wire not accustomed to be treated 
thus. Nevertheless, they submitted to his authority. Without 
accepting the presidency which devolved upon him by the vote 
of the junta ^ Miramon caused himself to be named commander- 
in-chief of the Mexican army. Two days after he replaced Zulo- 
aga in the presidency. The movement of Generals Robles and 
Echeagaray was entirely ignored. Zuloaga was then sol- 
emnly re-established January 24th, 1859. 

" It was very clear, however, that his power was entirely over- 
shadowed by the haughty protector who thus placed him at 
his feet. No one was deceived. Zuloaga alone had, perhaps, 
the simplicity to believe it all serious. To all Mexico, his situ- 
ation was nothing more than an artifice, and in admitting even 
this restoration as an homage rendered to the semblance ot 
legality, all felt that the supreme magistracy ought to devolve 
upon the one who was in reality tlie power. General Zuloaga, 
under the pressure of public opinion, was constrained to recog- 
nize this, and scarcely a week had passed ere he abdicated the 
4 



26 

presidential chair by a decree in favor of Miramon. Tins time 
Miramon accepted the situation, and the 20th of February, 
1859, he assumed supreme power and delivered an address in 
which he told some hard truths to all, even to his own party, 
and which the conservatives heard with astonishment. Hence- 
forth, we can, perhaps, forgive errors in the new president 
arising from inexperience, and more than all, from the dreadful 
condition of the country. 

" The lii"st thought of Miramon was to destroy the govern- 
ment of M. Juarez in the citaucl of Vera Cruz. There lay, in 
his eyes, the knot of the question. After having formed a 
ministry and obtained funds by an extraordinary impost, the 
president departed from Mexico on the 16th of February and 
directed his forces against Vera Cruz. If Miramon had had 
nothing more than the enemy before him to concpier, he would 
doubtless have succeeded. But he was in one of those con- 
fused situations where all things are constantly changing. His 
operations, slow at first, were soon neuti-alized by a series of 
circumstances entirely beyond his control, and had the effect 
to hold him in check by multiplying the difficulties about him. 
■' When Miramon was at the head of the army of the north, 
he beat the Constitutionalists in every encounter, and brought 
about a semblance of pacification. In his absence, the Consti- 
tutionalists recovered their activity, and reunited in the interior 
to the number of seven or eight thousand, under 1;he orders 
of Don Santos Degollado, who held the title of minister 
of war. Degollado captured the city of Guanajuato, and 
marched upon Mexico. This army pillaged the country 
through which it passed, and arrived at Tacubaya March 21, 
1859. Mexico Avas besieged, and I'endered liable to assault 
daily. April 15tli, the Constitutionalists attacked the gate of 
San Cosmo, and, though repulsed, their threatening forces re- 
mained at Tacubaya. During this state of affairs, one of 
Miramon's most energetic officers, Leonardo Marquez, ai-rived 
with additional forces. These immediately followed up the 
Federals, and vigorously jjursued them afar. At last Mira- 
mon himself arrived to the succor of the capital, being obliged 
to retm-n for this purpose from his Vera Cruz expedition. 



27 

" An incident of another character now took place, calculated 
somewhat to modify the character of the contending parties, 
by giving a certain credit, a species of national authenticity, to 
the government of M. Juarez and his adherents. Up to this 
period, the government in the city of Mexico had the advan- 
tage of being the only one recognized by the foreign powers. 
The representative of the United States even, Mr. Forsyth, 
had remained accredited to Zuloaga. In the first part of 
1859, however, it appeared that the cabinet at Washington 
was disposed to make a complete change in its policy Avith the 
Mexican republic. Mr. Forsyth was replaced by a new en- 
voy, Mr. McLane, who immediately recognized M. Juarez. 
How can this evolution be explained ? Thus : soon after the 
advent of Zuloa2:a, Mr. Forsvth thouarht to take advantao^e 
of the embarrassing circumstances attending a new government 
not firmly established, in order to obtain some new concession 
to the insatiable ambition of the American Union. He had 
proposed a treaty, guaranteeing to the United States a cession 
of territory, disguised under the form of a rectification of the 
northern frontier, the right of way in perpetuity across the 
isthmus of Tejuantepec — all in consideration of a pecuniary 
consideration to Mexico. The cabinet of Zuloaga refused de- 
cidedly to enter into such a negotiation, held out as an offering 
of succor, an act of generosity on the part of the United States. 
From this moment Mr. Forsyth manifested very little sym- 
pathy for the government of Mexico. He became angry, and, 
in fact, favored the conspirators, demanding, with imperious 
rigor, reclamation on the part, of those American citizens 
whose interests were disturbed by the civil war. In shoii, 
there was a rupture. The troubles of the I^orth Americans 
were serious^ as were those of other foreigners. It was, how- 
ever, a singular logic that held the government of Mexico re- 
sponsible for the acts committed by its enemies, and then turned 
to the government of Vera Cruz, the defenders of which were 
those who committed the acts ! This change of policy on the 
part of the United States evidently had a motive foreign to the 
reclamations of American citizens. It was desirable to obtain 
from M. Juarez that which Mr. Forsyth could not obtain from 



28 

General Ziiloaga. The new envoy, JVIr. McLane, arrived at 
Vera Cruz early in April, 1859. He was, it is said, furnished 
with instructions which authorized him to take the responsi- 
bility of deciding which of the two governments he would 
recognize. Scarcely had he been in Vera Cruz twenty-four 
hours before he resolved to recognize M. Juarez. 

" Acknowledged by the United States ; free for the moment 
from all threatened attack by the necessity which obliged 
Mii-amon to return to Mexico ; aided at the same time by the 
bands called ''constitutionalists' w'ho maintained the war in 
the interior, M. Juarez found a respite, and he concluded to 
profit by it by renewing legislatively the war against the 
church opened by the last revolution. Civil marriage was 
instituted by decree, and a manifesto aj^peared announcing all 
sorts of reform, crowned by that of despoiling the clergy. This 
last measure was instituted in order to lure all those specula- 
tors who were to be enriched at any price, and in conformity 
with the new relations established between the North Ameri- 
cans and M. Juarez, that the ecclesiastical property should be 
a ready guarantee to offer to the United States in any negotia- 
tion that might be made. The cabinet of Mexico protested 
against the law confiscating the church property, as it had 
already protested against the acknowledgment of Juarez by 
the United States. In advance, it repudiated all sale of church 
property, the same as it declared null any treaty which should 
be made between the cabinet at Vera Cruz and the North 
Americans. 

" This was a w^ar of decrees, of laws, and of protests, added 
to that of aims, which continued to desolate the country. Nat- 
urally, the government of Mexico was entirely opposed to 
that of Vera Cruz. To the manifesto of Juarez, Miramon 
offered another manifesto, in which he exposed with acerbity 
the afilictions of his country. Unhapi:)ily, the young Presi- 
dent had more intrepidity and capacity on the battle-field than 
experience in the management of public affairs. In the month 
of July, 1859, seduced by the fail* projects of a young man, M. 
Carlos de la Peza, who represented that he possessed the secret 
of negotiating the finances of Mexico, Miramon made him 



29 



minister of finance. The sclieme of M. Peza was cast aside 
when tlie inefficiency of Ms secret liacl been but too weU 
demonstrated. These spasmodic movements appertained less 
to the governing qualities of :Mii-amon than to the insurmount- 
able difficulties of the situation. But the military forces of 
Mexico maintained their advantage. General Leonardo Mar- 
quez, at the head of the army of the north, maintained the 
ascendency. Other chiefs, Woll and Vicario, obtained successes. 
Cobos beat the factionists at Teotitlan and captured Oajaca, the 
key of the states of Chiapas, Tabasco, and Tejuantepec. M. 
Santiao-o Vidaum, who had sustained Juarez, pronounced 
ao-ainst him in the month of September, or at least proclaimed 
himself neutral between the two parties. All this, however, 
brought no result, and on the 4th of November, 1859, Miramon 
suddenly departed for Queretaro nearly alone, and at the risk 
of being captured by the federals. 

"Arrived at Queretaro, Miramon was apprised that the con- 
stitutionalists, headed by DegoUado, Doblado, Blanco, Arteaga, 
and numbering some seven or eight thousand men, had united 
to attack Gunajuato. He speedHy called together such forces as 
were at hand, procured artillery from Mexico, and marched upon 
the constitutional army. Before coming in contact, Mii'amon 
and Degollado had an interview, in which the latter proposed 
to acknowledge the former president if he would accept under 
the constitution of 1857, reserving to a Congress the power of 
making reforms. Miramon decidedly declined. Degollado, on 
the strength of superior numbers, assumed a menacing tone. 
Miramon ''evinced no emotion, but replied, ' Very well, Don 
Santos, though I have but half your force, to-morrow morning 
I shall have the honor of conquering you.' In effect, the next 
day, at the Estaiwia de las Vacas, Mii^amon dispersed the consti- 
tutional army, and this new success restored t^Q prestige,^^n.ch 
had been somewhat weakened by the political tergiversations 
which had taken place during his residence in the capital. 
Miramon's acti\dty and audacity always, happily, restored the 
confidence which had elevated him to supreme power. 

"Battles in Mexico are rarely decisive, and this civil war, 
which has already continued two years, appears no nearer its 



30 

denouement than ever, — tlie end always fleeing, yet always said 
to be a])proac]iing. Since the month of Jannar}', 1858, they 
have had eight l)attles of importance, twenty-four combats of 
second order, thirty-nine inferior engagements ; in all, seventy- 
one actions, of which only sixteen have been gained by the 
constitutionalists. Furthermore, the civil war is nothing more 
than a pretext to commit all sorts of excesses and depredations. 
In reality, the party called federal, or ^ constUntionalwte^^ as it is 
named in Mexico, is nothing more than a gathering of undisci- 
plined bands ravaging the countr}\ Each chief acts on his 
own account, and these chiefs are innumerable. The most dis- 
tinguished for their misdeeds are Carabajal, Alatrista, Pueblita, 
Villalba, and Alvarez. 

"In the month of May, 1859, the federals plundered the mint 
of Guanajuato of $180,000. Of this, $90,000 belonged to 
English citizens. One of the ministers of Juarez, M. Zaniora, 
stated that this was nothing more than a temporary use of the 
funds of foreigners to meet the pressing need of the federal 
army. At Tepic, Coronado, a constitutional general, extoi-ted 
from M. Alsop, British consul, the sum of $11,000. At 
another point. Colonel Carretero captured a train of six hun- 
dred mules with their cargoes, belonging to the traders of 
Puebla. In the month of November, the federals, in their 
flight from Oajaca, took one hundred pounds of silver from a 
church. These barbarous chiefs of Mexican radicalism found 
a new method of raising means in the capture of padres and 
monks, whom they released for money. At Zacatecas they 
captured eight padres and released them for $8,500. At San 
Luis the liberty of one cost $10,000. 

" The lives of foreigners are no more secure than their inter- 
ests or the lives and interests of native-born citizens. One day 
during the siege of Mexico, some Germans of a truth, choosing 
well their day, projected an excursion to the Great Desert. 
They rested at night at the ranch of Cuaji-Malpa, intending to 
continue their course in the morning. They were quietly play- 
ing whist, when the doors were forced open and one of their 
number. Doctor Fuchs, fell, struck by a ball. All were robbed. 
The muleteers at this ranch engaged in transporting goods to 



31 

Toluca were of the same sort — all of them crying, ' Viia la 
ftderacion^ It cannot be said that all the chiefs who fight for 
the government of Mexico are absolutely innocent of misdeeds 
of this kind. For instance, in the month of November, 1859, 
General Marquez robbed a convoy of silver at Gruadalajara of 
$600,000 to pay his army. It should be stated that Mirampn, 
on being apprised of the fact, manifested the liveliest indigna- 
tion. He immediately ordered the restitution of the silver, 
and deprived Marquez of the command of the army of the north. 
" Such is the history of Mexico, of her revolutions, her civil 
war and anarchy. The respective situation of the two parties 
cannot be better defined than by one of the most recent epi- 
sodes in the history. That which was readily foreseen in con- 
sequence of the new relations formed between the United 
States and the government called 'constitutional' of Vera 
Cruz, is realized. The North Americans never intended to 
recognize the government of Juarez without compensation, 
without hope of advantage ; and Juarez on his part was driven 
to seek aid from the United States. Upon this, a negotiation 
was commenced soon after the arrival of Mr. McLane, which 
terminated in a treaty conceived upon a basis which Mr., For- 
syth had ineffectually proposed to Mexico, This treaty is, in 
fact, a disguised cession of a portion of the Mexican territory, 
and a sort of high protectorate established for the benefit of 
the United States. Juarez expected, without doubt, to obtain 
power in the support which he had j)urchased of the North 
Americans. But he did not count upon the unpopularity with 
which the McLane treaty was received even by his own parti- 
sans, and that which he regarded as strength, an earnest oi 
success, has become a cause of discredit and weakness. The 
United States, even, appear to hesitate in sustaining the entire 
action of their plenipotentiary, and now we find M. Juarez 
compromised and menaced more than ever. In fact, no sooner 
had M. Juarez signed the treaty with the American Union, 
than Miramon went into the country, got together new forces 
with which to operate more seriously and more decisively 
against Vera Cruz. It is not long since the United States came 
to the aid of M. Juarez, and without ceremony captured two 



32 

steamsliips destined to second the operations of Miramon. 
This damaged his operations, without, however, discouraging- 
him. The true parties are, therefore, always in view, and the 
question is correctly stated if this account can obtain the sem- 
blance of truth in the midst of so much anarchy." 

The foregoing article from the Revice des Deux Mondes may 
be considered a fair exposition of public opinion 'in France 
relative to Mexico, and as such, we place it on the record. 
The writer of the article makes an egregious geographical 
error at the outset. He heads his article, " Tlie Revolutions 
and the Dictators of South America^'' refers only to that divi- 
sion of the western continent in his opening remarks, and 
commences his flight of fancy in Mexico ! There would be 
just as much propriety in placing California or Canada south 
of the Isthmus of Darien, as there is in drawing the line of 
that Isthmus north of Mexico. This eiTor is of no s^reat 
importance in itself, yet it shows what very erroneous concep- 
tions are afloat in some of the higher order of European minds 
relative to the simplest matters of fact, even, regarding this 
continent. A few years since, there was brought out on the 
Parisian boards, a new French play, the scene of which was 
laid in America, and a cotton j)lantation formed the staple of 
the plot — said plantation being located near Boston, Massachu- 
setts. 

It is reasonable to infer that the entire article on Spanish 
America, published in the Revue des Deux Mondes, was made 
up of material furnished by the French legations stationed in 
the respective Spanish American countries. That portion 
relating to Mexico, and which appears in the Mexican Papeks, 
we are fully justified in stating, came from the French legation 
in the city of Mexico when in charge of M. Gabeiac, as we 
have seen the substance of the same in the Miramon gov. 
ernment journals, and which, at the time, was attributed to 
the French minister. The knowledge of this fact is, of itself, 
sufficient to destroy all confidence in the truth or justice of the 
remarks contained in the French review, since the fact that 
M. Gabriac took the part of a most unscrupulous partisan in 



33 

sustaining the fortunes of Mikamoi^ and the Mexican cliurcli,^ 
has now become notorious. 

The writer in the Revue des Deux Mondes states that the 
present difficulties in Mexico have their origin several years 
back in the revolution against the last dictator, Santa Anna, 
the prime mover in this revolution being General Alvaeez. 
What profundity, what extraordinary political acumen in Mex- 
ican affairs do we find here ! We venture to assert, that the 
present revolution in Mexico has its origin several hundred 
years back, when Spanish priests and soldiers enslaved the 
Mexican nation. 

Our French reviewer adverts significantly to the Indian 
blood of Alvaeez, Juaeez, and other liberals, and then with 
a flourish of words, brings forth Mieamon, the revolutionary 
president, as a choice extract, a splendid shoot from pure 
French and Castilian stock. This personage is first made 
prominent as the successor of Osollo, commander of the army 
of the north, who is stated to have fallen suddenly in battle. 
Osollo did not fall in battle, but he died in his bed, some say 
of fever, and it is a subject of remark in Mexico that his 
liberal tendencies gave the priests and their adherents lively 
concern, which concern was relieved by his death. In the 
account of the life of Mieamon after he appeared prominent 
on the stage, the attempt is made to invent an analogy in the 
career of the Mexican guerrilla chief, and that of the elder 
Napoleon as general and first consul. Mieamon, in his own 
country, is called by Ms countrymen in anger, asesino / and in 
ridicule, Macabeo. These appellations convey onultum inparvo. 
IMiEAMON is a Mexican of thoroughly mixed blood, his paren- 
tage not being known beyond his own country with any degree 
of distinctness. The statement relative to his military and civil 
acts is a thorough perversion of facts and pure invention frora 
first to last, and the attempt to display Mieamon before the 
world as a man of high courage, generous impulses, and tran- 
scendant abilities, either in military or civil affairs, must have 
tortured the brain of his eulogist beyond endurance. 

Another effort of the French reviewer ought not to pass 
unnoticed. It is wherein he endeavors to stigmatize the 
5 



/ 



34 

liberal party of Mexico as made up of unprincipled hordes, 
ravaging and laying waste the country, under innumerable 
chiefs, of which the most distinguished for theii' misdeeds are 
Carabajal, Alatriste, Villalba, and Alvarez. The liberals 
are charged with plundering the mint at Guanajuato in May, 
1859, of $180,000 belonging to English citizens. Coronado, 
a constitutional general, is represented to have extorted $11,000 
fi'om the British consul at Tepic, etc. 

It is acknowledo-ed that the federal chiefs do not commit all 
the robberies, since General Maequez, commander of the church 
army in the north, did, in November, 1859, abstract from a 
convoy of silver at Guadalajara, en route for the Pacific, the 
modest simi of $600,000 to pay his army, which act on the 
part of his general, raised the virtuous indignation of Mira- 
MON, who ordered the restitution of the silver and deprived 
Maequez of his command. 

It cannot be denied that, heretofore, Mexican warfare has 
been characterized by infamous acts of rapine and plunder. 
The present revolution has been pre-eminently distinguished 
for wholesale massacres, and the extent to which gigantic 
schemes of robbery and devastation have been carried. But 
the French wi'iter is entirely mistaken when he charges these 
acts upon the liberal or constitutional party. 

It is true that petty brigand chiefs, taking advantage of the 
anarchical state of the country, have arisen and committed 
depredations in various quarters, sometimes in the name of one 
party and sometimes in the name of another, but more fre- 
quently on their own responsibility, and neither party can be 
considei-ed directly responsible for their acts. The truth lies 
in this : tlie system of murder^ ra/pine^ and j^lunder^ under 
which Mexico has suffered since the ])resent revolution com- 
menced^ is- hut the system of the priests and their adherents j 
ibhich war has invariably developed to a harhao^ous degree. 
Call to mind the forced loans commenced in the city of 
Mexico three years ago by Zuloaga, "^;c>r una sola f^^;," and 
followed up, times innumerable, by Mieamon, Maequez, Woll, 
BoBLES, Negrete, Cobos, Mejia, and a host of merciless guer- 
rilla chiefs in the reactionary forcas, who have laid every city 



35 

and town in tlie republic of any note, under forced contribu- 
tions ; and any otlier country, less ricli than Mexico, would, 
under this system of plunder, have given up the ghost finan- 
cially long ago. Recount the almost innumerable butcheries 
perpetrated by Mieamon and his partisans, not omitting that of 
Tacubaya in 1859, and the wanton destruction of life at the 
siege of Vera Cruz, April, 1860. From advices just received, 
we learn that General Robles is laying waste the country about 
Tlacolulan and killing the defenceless Indians; and as for 
CoBos, Marquez, and Mejia, they are coarse, bloody murderers 
and robbers of the worst degree, and any cause that tolerates 
such monsters must be iniquitous. 

To charge this barbarous system of warfare upon the liberals 
is, therefore, a reckless and heinous misrepresentation of the 
facts. If the liberal party has erred at all, it has erred on the 
side of mercy. Its responsible chiefs, such as Juaeez, Degol- 
*LADo, OcAMPO, Ueaga, Alvaeez, Zaeagoza, Oetega, and 
others, have never imposed forced loans on the people, or been 
o-uilty of a single act of plunder as the means of sustaining 
their cause. The liberals did take $180,000 from the mint of 
Guanajuato. This money was put into bags of $1,000 each, 
and the bags delivered to 180 men belonging to the liberal 
army, with orders to scatter and rendezvous with the cash on a 
certain hill in the neighborhood. Every one of the 180 men 
was faithful to his trust. The commanding officer of the 
liberal forces who took the responsibility of seizing this silver, 
gave the owners thereof drafts on the constitutional govern- 
ment at Vera Cruz. Though distressed for means, that govern- 
ment promptly paid those drafts. Surely, a party that pursues 
such a course as this, is determined to sustain itself on strictly 
honorable principles. How this prompt and satisfactory state- 
ment of the Guanajuato mint affair contrasts with the innu- 
merable and unsettled acts of outrageous plunder by the 
opposing faction ! Among these is that of Robles at Puenta 
National^ where those interested in the conducta of specie were 
glad to submit to the robbery of $30,000 in order to save the 
balance. Also, the robbery of the conducta at Guadalajara by 
Maequez, the facts respecting which robbery are misrepresented 



36 

by tLe Revue des Deux Mondes. Tliis condiicta^ consisting of 
about $1,500,000, was en route for San Bias, for sliipment to 
Europe. Marquez took possession of tlie entire conduct a^ and 
at first it appeared as tliougli the whole of it would be plun- 
dered. Then $600,000 was considered sufficient, but finally, 
after abstracting $200,000, the balance was siifiered to proceed 
on its journey. Miea^iox, on hearing of this robbery, stai'ted 
post-haste from the. capital for the headquarters of Marquez. 
MiRA.MO]^ had been suspicious and jealous of Marquez for 
several months, the latter having evinced a disposition to pro- 
nounce for himself Fearing that the possession of such an 
amount of money would give Marquez too much power, and 
being largely interested personally, it is said, in the specie 
bound for Europe, Miramon lost no time in pouncing down 
uj)on his would-be rival in robbery. Marquez was inveigled 
to the city of Mexico, trapped, and cast into prison, where he 
now lies, a prisoner of state, with his ambitious schemes 
nij^ped in the bud. The church army squandered the 
$200,000. No restitution of the money was ordered, and not 
one dollar has been or ever will be restored. It is by such 
simple explanations as these, that the monstrous network of 
fabrication, woven by the plunderers of Mexico around their 
evil doings, may be destroyed. One more instance, and we 
leave this part of the subject for the present. General Coeo- 
NADO is said to have extorted $10,000 from the British consul 
at Tepic. We cannot explain this matter better than to quote 
from a letter dated Mazatlan, May 31, and which appears in 
the JSfew Orleans Picayune^ J^^ly ^i I860- 

" For a long time the English have been smuggling the coin of Mexico 
out of the country, and the consuls of the different seaports have been acting 
as agents in this contraband trade. San Bias was one of the chief depots 
of export while it was in the liands of the church party, and the consul 
there had been engaged in several heavy 'runs.' When, however, the 
partisans of Miramon had to give way to the stronger force of the liberals, 
the latter attempted to put a stop to this smuggling by implicating the 
English consul and threatening to take summary measures against him, 
which, however, passed unheeded, that gentleman well knowing that he 
was backed by a strong fleet, which would at a moment's warning resent 
any insiilt offered to the English flag or the person of its representative. 



37 

"Several times had the steamer Alert shown herself around San Bias, mean- 
ing thereby to force the liberals into silent acquiescence to the conduct of 
their consul. Nothing daunted, however, the liberals kept vigilant watch, 
and at a recent 'run,' the consul was caught in the act, and imprisoned 
until he would pay the duties on his two last adventures — those duties 
amounted to the snug little sum of $10,000, which he had to jDay before he 
was released from ' durance vile.' The steamers Alert and Amethyst wqvq 
then at Mazatlan, and when the news of the imprisonment of the English 
consul reached the captams of the above vessels, they UocJcaded this port, 
and threatened a bombardment if tJie citizens of Mazatlan did not, within 
a specif ed time, make up the $10,000, which the captain of the Alert asserted 
had been illegally pressed from the English consul at San Bias. All repre- 
sentations that San Bias and Mazatlan were under difterent provincial gov- 
ernments were useless, and the money had to be forthcoming. 

" Not satisfied with this unheard of extortion, the Alert and Amethyst 
steamed down to San Bias, blockaded that port, and after a stout resistance 
on the part of the liberals, landed a garrison under Capt. Grenvelt, of the 
Amethyst, and declared the province under English martial law. The op- 
position party, taking advantage of this covert assistance of the English, 
were regaining some advantages, and the liberals, to get rid of one of their 
tormentors, at least, were obUged to yield to any demands that the English 
consul might make for damages. The exact amount I could not learu, but 
that it was not a trifling sum you may be assured. The siege was raised on 
Monday, May 28th, the Alert coming up here, and the Amethyst remaining 
at San Bias. 

"The English version of the story differs somewhat from the above, but not 
materially; they acknowledge the facts, assigning, however, slightly differ- 
ent causes." 

We can endorse the trutli of tlie foregoing statement, and 
add tliat a dark tale of crime and oppression is connected with 
the history of smuggling in Mexico, particularly under English 
auspices on the Pacific coast. 

There is much in the temper and tone of the article in the 
Revue, des Deux Mondes, especially wherein it refers to the 
supposed pre-determination of the United States to absorb 
Mexico, that reminds one of a sensation pamphlet which 
appeared in Paris more than a year since, entitled " The 
Latin Racer It is much to be regretted that the editor 
of the Revue should be induced, by national predilections and 
the prejudice of race, to prostitute the columns of his respec- 
table and influential periodical to so ignoble a purpose as that 
of disseminating a document, the distinguishing feature of 



38 



which is, a total disregard and disdain of the principal facts 
relating to the great question upon which it treats. It is 
no agreeable task to enter upon the foregoing strong and^ 
unqualified denial of the French writer's statements. But it is 
only in this summary manner that we can deal with the bra- 
zen im])udence, the bigotry, and the deep-seated lust for 
power and gold, that is causing to be sent forth broadcast 
throughout both hemispheres, wretched tirades against hberty 
and decency in Mexico. 

The following table gives the population, area in square 
miles, and density of population per square mile, of those 
countries on this continent upon which the Hevue des Deuw 
Mondes treats : — 









Density of Pop-ila- 


Countries. 


Population. 


Area square miles. 


tion ynv 
squc.re mile. 


+ Mexico . ... 


8,283.088'" 
97i;450 
394,000 
358,000 
257,000 
215,000 

2,363,054 


766,482 
43,380 
9,600 
39,600 
40,200 
21,800 

521,948 


10.8 






22.4 


* San Salvador 


a 


41.3 


* Hoiid\iras 


S- 


9.5 


* Nicaragua 


a 


6.3 


* Costa liica 


'^ . . . . 


9.8 


* Granadian coi 


federation 


4.5 


* Venezuela \ • • ■ 


1,361,386 


426,712 


3.1 


* Ecuador / 6 . . 


1,108,042 


206,692 


5.3 


* Peru f *S . . 


2,106,492 


498,726 


4.2 


* Bolivia l 'S . . 


2,326,126 


473,298 


4.9 


* Chili ! ^ .. 


1,558,319 


249,952 


62 


* Argentine Republic V ^ • • 


1,459,355 


1,126,265 


1.2 


* Uraguay 1 cS ■ • 


177,300 


73,538 


2.4 


* Paraguay / 


600,000 


86,102 


6.9 


* Era/,U '^ 


7,677,800 


2,973,406 


2.5 




Total 


31,216,412 


7,557,701 















Average 




Average 


Total 


Averago 


Countries. 




« 


Importi. 


per 


E.vports. 


per 


Foreign Com- 


per 








^ 




Capita. 




Capita. 

$3,38 
1,93 
4,02 
2,08 
8,73 


merce. 


Capita. 




1856 
1868 
1858 
1855 
1855 


$26,000,000 

1,22.3,770 

1,246,720 

937,289 

972,851 


^3,14 
n,25 
3,16 
;2,61 
'3,78 


$28.1)00,000 

1.924.509 

1,.5S.5,4.85 

74.5,901 

958,572 


$54,000,000 
3,H8,-J79 
2,832.205 
1,6^3,190 
1,931,423 


.?0,,52 








3,23 




C3 U 




7,18 




^ f-* 




4,69 


Kic.irn<ruft 


ta 




7,51 


CosUi Rica 


'^< .. 




1858 


1,267,887 


5,89 


1,351,779 


6,28 


2,619,166 


12,1T 


Granadian ConfeUer-, 


. 


185G 


3,265,84.3 


1,37 


7,064,584 


2,98 


10,320,427 


4,8S 


Venezuela 




J "^ 


lS5fi 


5.59T.129 


4,11 


6,636,104 


4,87 


12,23.'?,23S 


8,98 


Ecuador 






1856 


2,626,706 


2,-37 


2,723,141 


2,45 


.-1,349,847 


4,82 


Peru 






1853 


9,>)S7,894 


4,31 


16,8811,377 


8,01 


25,968,271 


12,32 


Bolivia 




/< 


1853 


l,.359,i)a5 


.58 


1,422,716 


• ,61 


2,782,301 


1,19 


Chili 




1857 


19,804,041 


12,T0 


20.126.461 


12,91 


89,930,503 


25,62 


Aiiientlne Eej 


iiblic 


I ~ 


1855 


1 1,394,000 


7,80 


15,26i),986 


10,45 


2K,C,.-)4,9S6 


18,26 


Uraguny 




1 z 


1856 


4,5^6,317 


26,86 


1(1,303,853 


5>8,1 1 


14,^90,170 


8;^,y8 


I'aratcuay 






1856 


610,865 


1, 1 


1,006,059 


1,67 


1,616,924 


2,68 


Brazil 


Total I 




1857 


68,808,S65 
imorce of the 5 


8,IJ6 
Spanish i, 


&3,613,005 
traerican Colon 


8,28 
les 


132,421,870 


i:,24 




""orei 


gn Con 


$338,382,794 





* From Journ.ll of American Geographical and Statistical Society. 

t From Garcia y Cuba'.s Statistical Maps, Ministry of Fomontci, Me.xico. 



39 

T^lie preceding table gives an exhibit of the imports, exports, 
total foreign commerce, and average per capita of the same 
countries. 

Annexed is a recapitulation of tlie foregoing, including Cuba 
and other West India Islands ; to wMcb are added, the United 
States and Canada : — 



Countries. 


Imports. 


Average 

per 
Capita. 


Exports. 


Average 

per 
Capita. 


Total 

Foreign 

Commerce. 


Average 

per 
Capita. 


Mexico ^,„ 

Cuba 


$26,n(in,ooo 

39,560,'299 

41.81 3,2fi2 

5,048,017 

127,131,245 


$3,14 

2T,29 

16,74 

2, .57 

6,13 


$28,000,000 

46,792,055 

37,188,283 

6.566,246 

145,087,286 


$.3,88 

3?,28 

14,89 

2,99 

6,99 


$54,000,000 
86,852,354 
79,001,545 
12,214,'2(^•^ 

272,168,531 


$6,52 
59,57 
31,68 
5,51 
13,12 


OMier "West India Islands ... 

(V-utral Amcr.oa 

South America 


Total Spanish America. . . 
United States 


240,152,823 
282,61.3,150 

49,288, -245 


6,82 
9,2B 
19,16 


263,583,870 

324.644,421 

31,813,u20 


7,49 
10,04 
12,37 


503,736.693 
607,257,57! 
81,101,265 


14,31 
19,90 


Canada 


31,53 





Countries. 


Population. 


Area square miles. 


Density of Popula- 
tion per 

square mile. 


Mexico 


8,283,088 
1,449,462 
2,497.154 
2,195,450 
20,737,874 


766,482 
47,278 
49,015 

154,580 
6,636,639 


10 8 


Cuba 


30 7 


Other "West India Islands 

Central America 


50.9 
14 2 


South America, ^ 


3.1 


Total Spanish America. . . . 
United State.? 


35,163,028 

30,500,000 

2,571,437 


7,653,994 

2,990.000 

357,822 


4.5 
10 2 


Canada 


7.2 







From the preceding tables, we learn that the countries on 
this continent, known as Spanish America, .have an area of 
T,55'7,'701 square miles, with a population of 31,216,412, whose 
total foreign commerce amounts to $358,382,794. Include the 
West India Islands, and we have a total area of 7,653,994 
square miles, a population of 35,163,028, and a foreign com- 
merce of $503,736,693. These are the vast regions with their 
tens of millions of people and their hundreds of millions of 
trade, whose destinies, as we view the subject, the Revue is 
endeavoring to influence in a manner calculated to bring still 
greater misery and more wide-spread ruin than even now 
exists among those nations whose most dire evils are, in reality, 
legacies from that very Latin race which is now extolled as the 
only element of good in their midst. 

We hold that public opinion on Mexico is wrong, and that 
foreign governments are following out an unjust, mistaken 
policy toAvard that country. We deem it of the highest 



40 

importance that the American people should lose no time in 
becoming fully acquainted with the merits of this great ques- 
tion. It should be raised at once from the obscurity into 
which our politicians have cast it, and assigned that prominent 
place in our national politics which its overshadowing impor. 
tance demands. It is true that the policy applicable to Mexico 
may not be entirely applicable to the other Spanish American 
countries. Each one of these countries has its peculiarities, 
and each may require some variation in the mode of treatment. 
But if public opinion is wrong as regards Mexico, public 
opiniou, in the main, is wrong as regards the whole of Spanish 
America ; and if the United States, claiming to be a free and 
enlightened republic, and as such, assuming to control the 
destinies of this continent, stands in a false unjust position 
toward Mexico, she stands in a false, unjust position toward 
the whole of Spanish America. 

Those broad and fruitful countries, though groaning and 
languishing under despotic, ill-regulated governments, contain, 
even now, a population of 35,163,028, and sustain a foreign com- 
merce of $503,736,693. What may not those countries become 
with tranquillity, and under the civilizing influences of com- 
merce and industry, introduced by a powerful, free, and enlight- 
ened republic f It requires no extravagant imagination to see 
those vast regions now so sparsely inhabited, filled up with 
hundreds of millions of people, and to count a commerce and 
trade of thousands of millions of dollars ! 

Such a field for enterprise as Spanish America now offers 
to the United States has never been seen since the world began. 
It is in Mexico that its occupation miist commence, and 
first of all, the fate of Mexico must be settled. Even now, 
her destinies are trembling in the balance. We have reliable 
advices that Seiior Pacheco, the new Spanish minister to 
Mexico, is beginning to show his hand under the stipulations 
of the Almonte treaty, made by Spain with the Miramon gov- 
ernment. The last Spaniard that ever lives, will die believing 
the Mexican people were created to be his slaves. It is not 
difficult to divine, therefore, what Senor Pacheco's course will 
be. It is also published, on authority from Louis Napoleon 



41 

direct, tliat lie is about to interfere in Mexican affairs. So long 
as tliere was any hope for the cliurch party, and whilst treaty 
negotiations were pending between the United States and 
Mexico, the European Powers, in their efforts to thwart the 
United States and sustain the church party, confined them- 
selyes to the exertions of their accredited ministers in Mexico. 
But now that the American Congress has refused to have any 
thing to do with that country, and the final triumph of the 
liberals, even without the aid of the United States and against 
all opposition, appears absolutely certain, a direct and unequiv- 
ocal armed intervention by France and Spain, and perhaps 
England, is announced. 

What does this foreign intervention mean, just as victory 
appears to be within the grasp of the liberals ? It means that 
Spain, whether acting in conjunction with any other power or 
not, is as fully determined as ever to have a despotic tenure in 
Mexico of some sort, if she cannot hold the entire country in 
her hands; and it means that France is influenced by the 
money power in Mexico which has hitherto sustained the 
church party, and which is broken, utterly ruined, and lost, 
the day on which the liberals obtain possession of the city 
of Mexico. M. G-abeiac, formerly French minister in Mexico, 
is now in Paris. He is supposed to represent not less than 
$50,000,000 arising out of transactions with the Zuloaga and 
Miramon governments on the part of himself, Jeckee, Toeee, and 
others. These bankers and capitalists, and their immediate 
connections in Mexico, have all failed, and their assets are 
mostly the church faction securities, which no legitimate gov- 
ernment of the country can have the least shadow of authority 
for paying. Intervention on the part of France and Spain 
(and perhaps England) at the present moment means, there- 
fore, nothing more or less than a check to the liberals which 
will force them to make a compromise with bigotry and des- 
potism that contemplates the fulfilment of stipulations, disas- 
trous to Mexico, contained in the Almonte treaty, and the 
payment of those enormous and iniquitous obligations created 
by the church party. This foreign intervention means mis- 
chief. If the liberals of Mexico listen to any scheme of com- 
6 



42 



piomise with theu- enemies, they are lost; and if we pemit 
either or all of the European powers to interfere in the affairs 
ot JUexico on any pretext whatsoever, we are no better than 
besotted boasters, and have no right to rank among nations 
as a Power on Earth. 



TO THE MERCANTILE AND INDUfelKiAL. ^i^AiSon. 





^ 

[FIKST SERIES— No. 2.] SEPTEMBER 1st, 1860. Price 15 Cts. 



THE 

MEXICAN PAPERS 



'3^^Sry 



•^A 



HE MEXICAN QUESTION, 



THE GREAT AMERICAN QUESTION, 



^erMnal Reminiscences, 



EDWARD E. DUNBAR. 



A SERIAL-ISSUED SEMI-MONTHLY. 



i 



DROSS Sc TOTJSElir, ISl IVassan Street, 

GENERAL AGENTS. 



NET^-YORK : 

J. A. H. HASBROUCK & CO., PRINTERS, 180 BROADWAY. 

^Q^ I860.- ^ 



^ 




CONTENTS OF No. 3. 



t 



PAGE. 

PERSONAL, 43 

The acquisition policy of our government, ...... 43 

Mistaken views of our people on this subject, - . ... 44 

What the South can do in the absence of treaty stipulations with Mexico, 50 

The kind of treaty that is needed at the present time, - - - - 52 

The effect it would have, .-.---.--53 

THE MITLA LETTERS, 53 

Anajuac Mythology, Vera Cruz, April 5, 1859, 54 

The Recognition, Vera Cruz, April 6, 1859, 56 

MEXICAN CORRESPONDENCE— ITS CHARACTER AND EFFECTS, - 58 

UBLIC OPINION ON MEXICO, 60 

, . \ANISH AMERICAN REPUBLICS, from the London Saturday Review, - 60 

EDITORIAL REMARKS on the article from the English Revieic, - - - 64 

MITLAletter, Mexico, July 1, 1860. 66 

MEXICAN CORRESPONDENCE on the exchange of prisoners, ... 78 



48 



PEESONAL. 



Foe some years past, tlie most prominent feature in our 
policy with Mexico lias been to acquire her territory. If Mr. 
Buchanan had one clear and distinct idea in his own mind rel- 
ative to Mexico, when he despatched Mr. McLane thither, it 
was, doubtless, that of acquiring a portion of her domain. It 
is now generally conceded that the minister to Mexico had 
no definite instructions except on this point — a sort of general 
memorandum having been given to him to go and do the 
best he could; recognize the government that appeared the 
most likely to win, despotic or liberal, church or anti-church; 
and to negotiate a treaty with whatever government he 
might recognize, that should embrace in its provisions a 
cession of certain Mexican territory to the United States, 
for a pecuniary consideration. My own convictions, based 
on personal experience, had fortified me against such an 
unprincipled policy as this — a policy that has proved fatal 
to all those interests which the two countries hold in 
common. 

It appears that when Mr. McLane was despatched to 
Mexico, the administration at Washington had less compre- 
hension of that country than it had of almost any remote por- 
tion of Asia that could be named. It would seem that our 
highest officials had neither the time nor the knowledge requi- 
site to draw out a schedule of instructions, embodying a de- 
cided, practical, statesmanlike policy for the new minister to 
follow in Mexico. It is reasonable to believe, therefore, that 
when the news of Mr. McLane's prompt and unqualified 
recognition of the constitutional government, and the liberal 
party of Mexico, reached Washington, none were more aston- 
ished than Mr. Buchanan and his cabinet. 

This momentous official act was no sooner accomplished un- 
der the circumstances heretofore stated, than the high negotia- 
ting parties commenced framing a treaty such as the common 
interests of both countries seemed to require. The negotia- 



44 

tions were conducted witli that circumspection usual on such 
occasions, and nothing relative to these, while pending, was 
known outside the official circle. There was one point in the 
matter, however, as well understood in the streets of Vera Cruz 
as in the cabinet of President Buchanan, or that of President 
JuAKEz. This point was, that the acquisition policy of the 
American president would make itself apparent first and fore- 
most ; and I believe it is a fact now well understood, that Mr. 
McLane, acting under instructions, was obliged to present a 
demand for the cession of a portion of Mexican territory to 
the United States, for a pecuniary consideration, at the very 
outset of his efforts to frame a treaty with the constitutional 
government ! 

The feeling of the Mexican people, relative to the sale of 
any portion of their country, is not understood in the United 
States. It is a mistake to suppose that any section of the re- 
public favors such a transaction, or is indifferent on the subject. 
The contrary is the fact. No people have a stronger love of 
country, or more extravagant notions, I may say, of what is due 
to its honor and dignity, than the Mexicans. No party in the 
country will listen to a proposition for the purchase of terri- 
tory. It is only certain thoroughly venal and unpatriotic in- 
dividuals Avho, when they attain power and see the way clear 
to pocket the proceeds, will sell the national domain. Fast 
"manifest destiny" men, and crazy speculators, have done much 
to mislead our government and people on this point. The Mex- 
ican war was conceived in erroneous notions relative to the 
sentiments and the capacities of the Mexican people, especially 
those of the northern states. It is a well-known fact that 
President Polk and his cabinet supposed the mere presence of 
General Taylor with his troops on the Eio Grande would be 
sufficient to prevent hostilities. It is now a matter of history, 
how this movement of General Tayloe's provoked the veiy issue 
it was intended to overawe. Even after hostilities had com- 
menced. President Polk was led to believe that the northern 
tier of Mexican states were desirous of separating from the 
federation, and joining the American Union ; and it would 
only be necessary for a few regiments of American soldiers to 



45 



appear among them and countenance the project, when the 
people m ma.s,e would throw up their hats and huzza for an- 
Lation and the American confederacy. On this erroneous 
beliei; DoiTiPBAN, with his regiment, was ordered to march 
throuU New Mexico into Chihuahua. General Keakney was 
sent to California to co-operate with Commodores Stockton 
and Sloat, while General Taylor appeared mTamaulipas and 
Coaiuila. That magnificent extent of country did not, how- 
ever like ripe fmit, fall to the United States, a Woodless and 
chea!p acquisition, in conformity with the expectation and de- 
sire of the administration at Washington. The Mexicaus, 
from one end of the country to the other, were united as one 
man against the invaders, and step fcy step the war went on, 
until, to save our national honor, we were obliged to conquer 
a peace hy capturing the capital of the republic, and vanquish- 

ias: tlae nation. 

Up to this time, nothing had occurred to bring out the opm- 
ion of southern statesmen on the practicabiBty of propagating 
necro slavery in Mexican territory beyond the Rio Grande 
and the Rocky Mountains. There appears to have been a 
vague idea that it could not be done. Websteb and Calhoun 
doubtless, had clearer and more correct views on the subject 
than any statesmen then living. But whatever may have been 
the opinions of leading southern statesmen who influenced the 
admiiistratiou of President Polk, the glory of a splendid ac- 
quisition of Mexican territory, certainly, °" *1'%;'^?'^P'" 
tie plan, obscured their vision as to its results on their favorite 
institution of slavery. But when those parties found them- 
selves in possession of the whole of Mexico, then, and not till 
hen, did'^^he question of the possibility of propagating negro 
slaveiyinthat country enter the councils of southern statesm n 
as a matter that must be immediately acted upon. Southern 
Ltinct as usual when the interest of the peculiar m^ti- 
Lion is concerned, was prompt and correct lu its dec sion 
on rtiis occasion. The leading men of the south agreed that 
negro slavery could not be carried into Mexican terntoiy, an^ 
The country was returned to the original owners, except New 
M xico andCalifornia, which were retained for a consideration. 



46 

notwithstanding tlie misgivings of the entire south, and the 
open opposition of a few of her leading men. 

Thus we see the Mexican wai' oricjinated in a series of blun- 
ders which resulted in an unexpected, unwished-for conquest; 
which conquest was finally abandoned, because the controlling 
party knew^ that it could not be made available for the exten- 
sion of human slavery, and the minority party honestly be- 
lieved, or affected to believe, directly to the contrary. Now, 
the " irrepressible conflict" apostles — who have gained immense- 
ly in political power since that period, and whose final success 
depends entirely on the unhealthy excitement created Tjy their 
gospel of uneasiness — are keeping alive and using the theory 
that the institution of slavery can and will be carried into 
Mexico! 

Our Mexican policy, based on a thorough ignorance of 
Mexie<> and the Mexicans, continues up to the present day. It 
has been fatal to our relations with that country, and it always 
will be fatal, in diplomacy, to approach any Mexican govern- 
ment holding power by the will of the people, with a propo- 
sition to purchase national territory. Besides the profound 
conviction of this fact, there are other weighty reasons which 
sustain my opposition to our Mexican policy of territorial 
acquisition. 

My experience in Arizona had convinced me that in the 
acquisition of that domain known as the " Gadsden PurcJtase^ 
we but added to the territory of New Mexico a wild region of 
country, (and without the port of Guaymas) very difficult to 
get into, and much more difficult to get out of — a dreary dis- 
trict which, in fact, has proved to us nothing more or less than 
a trap, in which bands of wild and murdering Indians catch 
emigrants and settlers, with their horses, cattle, and other prop- 
erty. This forlorn purchase of territory also gave the United 
States government the opportunity to incTease its patronage, 
by extending its worse than useless Army and Indian Agency 
system, and addinsr several millions to the amount .squandered 
yearly by the 'War Department, under pretence of protecting 
the fix)ntieTS, The acqtiisition of the states of Sonora, Chihuar 
hna, and part of Coajtiila, would bring all that remains of the 



41 

wild Indian country sonth of ns, within the limits of die 
United States, and this new acquisition would equal, in area^ 
Xew Mexico and Arizona. The former territorT has t^een in 
the possession of the United States twelve years, and the lat- 
ter, six yexLTS. These two territories have l>een nnder the pro- 
tection of the War Department, and praeticaUy. iindeT the 
manairement of the United States military and Indian agents 
stationed therein. When we look back and contemplate the 
horrid butcheries that have taken place, the great lo^ of 
hnman lite, the rDOLniense waste of property, and the enormons 
expenditure of national fonds within those territories, we hang 
our heads with commiseration and shame. And when we 
I'eflect that those regions are, it* any thing, in a worse cx^ndition 
this day than they were when the United States took posses- 
sion, we may well call in question the propriety of acquiring 
other territories of the same character, to W given up to a 
svstem of management which proves an absolute hindrance to 
every thing like civilization cmd progress^ 

The expenditures of the War Department are now nearly 
$30,000,000 per annum — ^almost half the entire revenue of this 
{government — ^and at the present rate of increase, the amount 
win reach #60,000,000 in 1S65 ! And wt, in view of ttiese 
startlinor facts, our legislating politicians are rushing bliadly, 
madlv on to increase this branch of fe.leral patronage, and all 
this is done under the plea of retrenchment and economy. 

It Avill be remembered that President B^CIIA^-A>f, in his an- 
nual messaore, 1S58, reconunended the forcible and military 
occupation of the Mexican States of Sonora and Chihuahua. 
The chairman of the House Committee of Foreign Atfairs ad- 
di-essed the Secretary of War on the subject. The follo^ving 
is his replv. We give it as one of the brightest scintillations 
of genius that has fliished from the War Department since it 
came into existence, 

" Wak Bkpartmkst, Ike, 27, 1S5S. 

Sir : — In reply to your communication of the 14th inst., I have the honor 
to state that in my judgment the armed possession of posts in Chihuahoa 
and Sonora, according to the policy recoramouded by the PresidtMit, w^o«ld 
add nothing t<> the j>r<Menl tteeessiti/ for an increase of the army. 



48 

"The line of defence from the fiouticr of Texas to the Pacific coast 
would be materially shortened, and miglit be so chosen as most essentially 
to diminish the cost of traus})ortation for the supplies of a very large portion 
of our forces employed upon our southern border. Very respectfully, 

" Your obedient servant, 

" John B. Floyd, Sec. of War. 
"The Hon. John C. Faulkner, Chairman 
*' Committee on Military Affairs, 

" House of Rejjresentatives." 

The War Department at Washington is the last place a 
sensible business man of frontier experience would go for in- 
formation, upon which to base any project, either military 
or civil. Truth, replying from the frontier to the inquuy of 
the House Committee on Military Affaii-s, would have stated 
something like the following : 

" The states of Chihuahua and Sonora nearly complete the 
area of country south of us, in which the wild Indians claim 
and exercise the right to ravage. The United States, through 
its military posts and Indian agencies, has not been able to 
check these savages in that portion of this extensive domain 
afready acquired. 'Armed possession' of New Mexico has 
rested as a blight upon the land for twelve years ; and ' armed 
possession' of Arizona for six years, has rendered that tenitory 
a by-word among the hybrids south of us, and a stench in the 
nostrils of our own people. A line of military posts from San 
Antonio, Texas, to Guaymas, Sonora, so thickly placed that the 
tap of the drum could be heard fr-om one to the other, would 
not control the savages. And, moreover, the people of Sonora 
and Chihuahua shudder at the idea of American garrisons 
being placed in their midst to create rows, riots, and assassina- 
tions without number, and arouse more bad blood and fierce 
passions than could be allayed in half a century. The addi- 
tional expense to the War Department, consequent upon an 
armed occupatioa of Sonora and Chihuahua, under our present 
system, and with the addition of disaffected Mexicans, would 
be not less than $10,000,000 per annum." 

It may appear that the foregoing is a digression from the 
main subject, but it is not so. Our southern frontier interests 
are inextricably interwoven with the Mexican question in more 



49 

ways tlian one. The same views I now express on tMs point, 
were set forth by me in a series of letters on Sonora and 
Arizona, that appeared in the New Yorlc Times^ the latter part 
of 1858. 

The most important consideration in my own mind, how- 
ever, against the policy of territorial acquisition at the present 
time, has been, the excited condition of the public mind on the 
question of slavery, and the fact that new territory only adds 
fuel to the flame. It is true, I have expressed my unqualified 
belief that the United States, north or south, separate or 
together, cannot carry negro slavery into Mexico; yet I am 
well aware that the Mexican states on our southern border, 
either in or out of the American Union, can^ in the present 
unhappy condition of our political affairs, be used by the 
South as an element, or the means of incalculable mischief to 
the North, and to the Union. The cry of " disunion" means 
something, or it means nothing. It is foolish for any one to 
give it out simply as a prophecy, that this Union will, or will 
not be destroyed. This Union may be as firm as the hills, 
indissoluble ; or we may see it in fragments within a twelve- 
month. It cannot be denied that at this time, there is a lurk- 
ing dread, an undefinable feeling of uncertainty gaining 
strength in men's minds, respecting' the future of our country. 
No one believes that a separation of these United States can 
take place in a peaceful, regular manner. If parted at all, 
they must be rent asunder. How do matters stand now ? The 
North hates the South most cordially, and the South recipro- 
cates this feeling most heartily. This hatred amounts to fanat- 
icism on both sides — that of the North being by far the most 
dangerous, as it is the most extensive and powerful, and has a 
religious tinge. This hatred between the parties is based on 
the most deadly and the worst passions of which our nature is 
capable, and thus the two sections of the country stand arrayed 
against each other — the powerful North on the aggressive — 
the South defiant, yet alarmed, awaiting the onslaught. Tliis 
is all unnatural. It is the work of politicians who have inten- 
sified the struggle and made the issue. There is an apathy 
among the masses now, but the political leaders are astride 
7 



50 

their political liobbies, and, under full hue and cry, are dash- 
ing on with whip and spur. vSuppose the republican riders in 
the North continue astride the " irrepressible conflict" — abso- 
lutely the most fanatical and unprincipled political hobby of 
the day — and drive on furiously and successfully to the election 
of a republican j)resident. It is highly probable that Mr. Lin- 
coln now desires to say to all men what he no doubt honestly 
feels at this moment; " Just let me get into the presidency and 
HOC how conservative I will be." If Mr. Lincoln is raised to 
the presidency, can he command conservatism ? It is by the 
power of fanaticism of the worst species only, that he can be 
elevated. Through him, power based on fanaticism reaches its 
culmen, and once in power, has this element ever been known 
to turn back and be consumed in its own fires? The "irre- 
pressible conflict" gospel means irrepressible hatred, and if this 
element once obtains control of the government of this country, 
it is, on sound principles of logic and analogy, reasonable to 
believe that it will nol: cease to rage, until it has desolated 
those regions toward which its fury has been so long directed. 
In this view of a republican success, it cannot be otherwise 
than that the South — her pride wounded beyond endurance, 
her independence gone, and her people panic-stricken — will 
lose all calmness and reason, and give free rein to wild and 
overt acts. In that section of our country, self-preservation will 
be the first motive for action, and the cry of " disunion " will 
mean patriotism. What are now the vaporings of a Bickly, 
K. G. C, may become a reality. The filibuster element once 
roused and directed, the. South can invade Mexico, conquer 
and hold a part or the whole of that republic. What could 
the United States government do in such an emergency ? It 
has not the power to move one step or lift a finger to avert 
this stupendous work of national ruin. As matters now stand 
between the political parties in the United States, and in the 
absence of all treaty-stipulations with Mexico, by which the 
respective Executives of both nations are empowered to main- 
tain the territory of each inviolate, the south, if so disposed^ 
can render the election of a republican president a nullity, or 
completely hreah wp a republican administration. 



51 

These were my views on tliis subject, when I found myself 
in Mexico, in 1859, and heard prominent parties in the cities of 
Mexico and Vera Cruz discussing the stipuktions of a treaty 
between the United States and Mexico. 

The constitutional government and the liberal party of 
Mexico having been recognized by the United States govern- 
ment, the way was opened for the inauguration of a new policy be- 
tween the two countries. The constitutional government was in 
a condition and desirous to offer to the United States advantages 
that no government in Mexico had ever been able to offer be- 
fore. It appeared as though the time had arrived for the ne- 
gotiation of a treaty which should guarantee to the Mexican 
nation, as well as to foreign residents, civil and religious liherty; 
break down and remove those ancient obstacles and hindrances 
to trade and commerce, and secure the sovereignty of the 
Mexican nation and the integrity of her territory as they now 
stand, under a constitution and laws which conform, as near as 
possible, to our own. Some may say that this, virtually, 
amounts to a protectorate. Perhaps it does. If so, it is a 
moral protectorate, more powerful and enduring than an arm- 
ed protectorate. 

Since the days of Aakon Buee, the idea of filibustering 
Mexico has taken the shape of a suggestive devil in the brain 
of every one who has dreamed of projects to destroy the Union. 
For this reason, as well as others of moment, it would seem of 
paramount importance that the present boundary line between 
the two republics should be so fixed that filibusterism, or all 
the powers of disunion, slavery, and fanaticism, could never 
break over, remove, or destroy it. 

I have already mentioned that the sentiment of the 
Mexican people is strongly opposed to slavery. In accordance 
with this sentiment, slavery was formally abolished by the 
Mexican congress in 1829, and in accordance with this senti- 
ment, the second article of the present constitution of Mexico 
runs thus : 

" Article 11. All are born free in the republic. Slaves that set foot upon 
national territory recover by that single act their liberty, and have the right 
to the protection of the laws." 



52 

What a pity it is tliat our own constitution could not have 
contained precisely such an article as this ! 

The constitution that contains the above article, is the con- 
stitution of the government in Mexico recognized by the 
United States, and any treaty between the two governments 
that guarantees each, the one to the other, the inviolability of 
the present boundary line between them, and the sovereignty 
of the Aveaker power, sets at rest forever the question of the 
extension of slavery on our southern border. A treaty be- 
tween the United States and Mexico which contained this most 
important stipulation, w^ould, there is every reason to believe, 
have a decided effect in causing European powers to look wdth 
favor upon tiie extension of American influence and American 
institutions thi'oughout Mexico, if any thing of this kind is 
possible. But it is quite doubtful whether those nations who 
have large pecuniar}^ claims on Mexico, especially England, 
would look with much complacency upon the sale of Mexican 
territory to the United States, or such a loose condition of affairs 
on the boundaries as would permit any partial or general dis- 
membeiment of the Mexican confederacy, under the auspices 
of the slave power. 

A pui'e commercial treaty between the United States and 
Mexico, one that should be clear and unequivocal in its guar- 
antees as to the sovereignty and integrity of the Mexican re- 
public, and which opened the latter country to foreign emigra- 
tion and the enjoyment of a reasonable degree of freedom in 
trade and commerce, is, then, under all the circumstances, 
what the legitimate interests of all parties and all nations, cer- 
tainly those who advocate the free sail doctrine, appear to 
require at this time. 

A treat}^ of this character between the United States and 
Mexico would completely hem in the South, by opening up a 
slavery-hating country on her southern border , to a slavery- 
hating, enterprising, progressive emigration from free soil 
countries on both continents. Then the South would awake 
to the danger and the enormity of the evil she is cherishing. 
Then the South within herself would, first, from prudential 
motives, and then on the score of economy, begin to inquire, 



63 

" How shall we get rid of slavery ?" A practical and peaceful 
settlement of tiie great and dangerous question will only come 
when the southern states, state by state, or together, take the 
initiatory in eradicating the festering sore from the body pol. 
itic. Any attempt on the part of the North to coerce the 
South in this matter, would surely result in the destruction of 
our confederacy. But by a wise recognition and skilful man- 
agement of moral agencies, on the same principle that science 
submits to the laws that regulate the material elements, in order 
to control those elements, the southern people may be brought 
to yield gracefully and peacefully to the inexorable and irresist- 
ible laws of progress, simply because the forces bearing upon 
them are above and beyond their control, or theu' right to call 
in question. 

A treaty with Mexico, of the character set forth in the fore- 
going, as I construe it, was laid before the Senate of the 
United States, during its last session. I believe this treaty 
was calculated to open a splendid field of enterprise for our 
northern commercial and industrial interests, now so pent up by 
adverse political influences; to end our dangerous sectional 
differences, and sweep from view forever our low order of 
politicians, who, like ftmgi^ have risen from the dark and sickly 
depths of negro politics. Is it strange, therefore, that these 
politicians killed the Mexican treaty ? 



THE MITLA LETTERS. 



The proprietors of the Neiv York Times have kindly per- 
mitted me to publish the letters I addressed to that journal 
during my sojourn in Mexico, in 1859. Such of these letter?, 
therefore, as relate to events then transpiring, my personal ob- 
servations, travels, etc., will appear in the Mexican Papees, as 
a part of my " Personal Reminiscences." 



54 

" ANAJUAC JIYXnOLOGr-TEADITION RESPECTING TILE GOD QUATZAL- 

COATL. 

"Vera Cruz, April 5, 1859. 

" On the 20th April, 1519, three hundred and forty years ago, 
less fifteen days, Cortez, with his fleet, arrived off the island 
or shoal named by Grijalva, San Juan de Uloa. The Spanish 
adventurer anchored in the roadstead, between the island and 
the main land, and the next day, landed his forces on the low, 
flat sand beach, where the city of Vera Cruz now stands. 

" Immediately, hordes of wondering, simple-minded natives, 
came over the dingy sand hills, a short distance in the rear of 
the encampment, to see the mysterious strangers, brought by 
* water houses with white wings ' from unknown regions be- 
yond the sea. With what fearful interest these swarthy sons 
of nature must have regarded the sudden appearance of those 
beings from over the world of waters, who came more as gods 
than as men ! Swift-footed messengers speedily bore the news 
to Montezuma, This proud monarch of the Aztec Empire, 
seated on his throne in the mountains, and in the plenitude of 
his power, received the news with fear and trembling. The 
popular ti'adition respecting a prominent deity in Anahuac 
mythology, called Quatzalcoatl, forced itself upon his mind. 
The tradition was that this deity, the god of air, represented, 
unlike their other Indian deities, as benevolent, having a white 
skin and flowing beard, had, in ages past, been expelled by 
the more ferocious gods, and embarked on the Atlantic sea, in 
a wizard skiff, for the fabled land of Tlopallan, promising to 
return at some future day with his posterity, resume posses- 
sion of the Empire, and fulfil his mission of benevolence. 

" The hieroglyphic, or ' picture-writing' account of the stran- 
gers taken to Montezuma, represented them as having fair 
skins and flowing beards ; riding furious monsters with four 
legs, and holding the thunder and lightning of heaven in their 
hands. The Aztec monarch wavered, trembled, consulted his 
wise men, and then, in the pride of his heart, but weakness of 
his soul, sent to the Spanish commander rich presents, con- 
sisting of loads of cotton cloths, beautifully embroidered with 
silver and gold; feather work of the richest colors and 



55 

most delicate designs ; pearls and precious stones, gold dust, 
and gold and silver plates on which, highly ingenious devices 
were cunningly engraved. With these presents came a polite 
message from the giver, requesting his visitors to accept them 
as tokens of his friendship, and return to the country from 
whence they came. 

" Montezuma, by thus exposing his wealth and his weakness, 
invited his fate. Had he forwarded to Cortez a few hundred 
pounds of maize SLudfrijoles, some Ohili Colorado and a sack of 
pulqice, it is not probable that the tremendous energies, unfail- 
ing resources, and heroic daring which soon subdued the Aztec 
empire, would then and there have been created in the soul of 
the Oonquistado?\ After examining all Montezuma's presents, 
and hearing his messages, Cortez remarked, ' tJie Spaniards are 
troubled with a disease of the heart, for lohich gold is a specifiG 
remedy^, intimating, at the same time, that they had come a 
long way to obtain the remedy, and could not return without 
it. This remark of Cortez, though facetiously made, contained 
one of the most solemn truths ever uttered. This ' disease of 
the heart' fired the Spaniards' courage, roused their energies, 
kindled their fanaticism, drew them to conquest, through con- 
quest to oppression, through oppression to weakness and vice ; 
and now that particular disease of the Spanish heart is finding 
its cure in dust and ashes. 

" The benevolent deity Quatzalcoatl had presided over the 
destinies of the Toltecs four centuries, when the greater portion 
of this people disappeared as mysteriously as they came, mak- 
ing way for the fiercer Aztecs. The rude and warlike nature 
of this latter race was softened somewhat by coming in contact 
with the remaining Toltecs, who had lived under a mild re- 
ligion and an advanced state of civilization. The Aztecs in- 
creased rapidly in numbers and power, banished the benev- 
olent deity Quatzalcoatl, and, as time rolled on, delivered 
themselves up more and more to the influence of their war 
gods. Then the Spaniards appeared, conquered, and planted 
the Cross on the pagan altars of the natives. But the Spaniards 
did not prove to be the descendants of the benevolent deity 
that had been banished so many centuries. It is true, the 



56 

pagan altars were cast down, and what is called the Christian 
Cross was reai-ed upon their ruins. In the name of this emblem 
of a higher order of religion, through a period of three cen- 
turies, millions were sacrificed on the unholy altars of the Span- 
iards' lust, and the Mexican nation lost immensely by the 
change. At last, their descendants, the modern race, weary of 
their abject state, rose and cast off the hated foreign yoke. 
But the Mexican nation fought the shadow, not the substance. 
That old, corrupt, bigoted, and despotic church remained, and 
its rule became more ferocious and tyrannical than ever. 

" Three hundred and forty years have elapsed since the com- 
mencement of these great events in Mexican history, so fraught 
with strange and melancholy interest. 

" There is a fine field for the play of the imagination, in tak- 
ing up the Anajuac tradition of the god Quatzalcoatl and fol- 
lowing it to the end. At this moment, we find the shifting 
nature of human events has placed at the head of Mexican 
afikirs, one of the original race, who, twelve centuries ago, ac- 
knowledged that deity as supreme ; one of the few who have 
maintained their purity of race. Even as I write, this repre- 
sentative of the mysterious people that have been so fearfully 
scourged, is treating for recognition and support from the 
emissary of the white and bearded northern race, who ac- 
knowledge the supremacy of a benevolent deity, and who say 
their mission is peace. Are the bloody Mexican deities about 
to be expelled ? Is Quatzalcoatl coming to resume possession 
of his empire — to restore peace and prosperity ? 

"MiTLA." 



THE RECOGNITION. 

"Vera Cruz, Wednesday April Q,\^59. 

" The deed is done. Mr. McLane, Minister Plenipotentiary 
and Envoy Extraordinary from the United States, has recog- 
nized Benito Juarez and his government as the government de 
jure and de facto of Mexico. 



57 

" The ceremony of recognition and presenting credentials was 
characterized by an impromptu demonstration unusual on sucli 
occasions. TMs ceremony took place at 1 o'clock to-day. A 
body of tlie regular army escorted President Juarez, with. Ms 
principal civil officers, to the Municipal Palace, situated on the 
Plaza. The American Minister, attended by his secretary, H. 
Le Roy Reintree, Esq., and C. Le Doux Elgee, attacJie^ with a 
suite composed of R. B. J. Twyman, U. S. Consul ; Capt. Jarvis, 
of the Savannah ; Capt. Farragut, of the Brooklyn ; Col. Johnson, 
U. S. Army ; Edward E. Dunbar, New York ; Jasper Whiting, 
of Sonora ; and Messrs. La Sere and Perry, of New Orleans, pro- 
ceeded from the minister's quarters to one of the long and 
beautiful rooms of the palace, where the Mexican President 
and his officials were in waiting. The American minister made 
a brief address to the President, who also briefly and happily 
replied. 

"Amid the firing of cannon, ringing of bells, and joyous 
shouts of the populace, the ceremony was concluded. 

" That the people and government of the United States will 
accord to their minister wisdom, decision, and firmness in this 
most important act, and that he will be fully sustained by his 
countrymen and government, there can scarcely be a doubt. 
The important consequences to both republics that must follow 
this friendly union on the common ground of constitutional 
freedom, cannot, at the present time, be estimated. The most 
cordial relations are now established belween the United 
States and the masses of Mexico. Liberal commercial treaties 
will be made, friendly and profitable intercourse between the 
two republics will be opened, and private and national filibus- 
tering must then cease. 

8 "MiTLA." 



58 



MEXICAN COKRESPONDENCE— ITS CHARACTER 

AND EFFECT. 

Much of tlie indifference, and we may say aversion, felt in 
this community toward Mexican affairs generally, are, doubt- 
less, owing to the peculiar character of the correspondence from 
Mexico, that appears in the public joui'nals. Nearly all the 
Mexican correspondence mth this country is concentrated in the 
journals of New York and New Orleans. All the prominent 
journals in New York, we believe, have endeavored to obtain 
regular and reliable correspondence in Mexico, but the Times 
and Herald are the only ones that have met with any degree 
of success. From personal knowledge, we can testify to the 
high appreciation in which the former journal holds this matter, 
and to its earnest and energetic efforts to obtain the most 
thorough and reliable information respecting events transpiring, 
and the real condition of affairs in the neighboring republic. 

The journals of New Orleans have better facilities for obtain- 
ing Mexican correspondence, from the propinquity of that city 
to the Mexican country. But at best, it is difficult to obtain a 
good Mexican correspondence at this time, from the ftict that 
good resident correspondents are very scarce, and no journal 
feels inclined to dispatch a special correspondent to Mexico and 
maintain him there, simply to WTite up the Mexican news. 
^ Our journals are, then, to a certain extent, dependent on 
chance and transient correspondents of the volunteer order, who, 
too frequently, are political, fdibustering, speculating adventu- 
rers. Such as these are always but too happy to inundate 
prominent jom'nals Tvdth their correspondence, because they 
believe that through this means, they will be able to influence 
public opinion one way or the other, according as their interests 
may dictate. 
M Since the commencement of the present Mexican revolution, 
now nearly three years, there has been from that country a 
systematic correspondence, denouncing all parties in Mexico, 
and advocating the immediate seizure of the entire countiy by 



59 

the United States, and the establishment of order b j means of 
a standing American army. This correspondence is doubtless 
honest, but most people in this country know the plan to be 
impracticable and absurd. 

Then we have the filibusters. They rove along the Mexican 
frontier, and between New Orleans and Vera Cruz. Their 
correspondence has been quite prominent. These gentlemen 
sometimes favor one party and sometimes another ; but, more 
frequently, they deride both parties, and evidently see no peace 
and prosperity in the future for poor distracted Mexico, until 
a few thousand Americans, with revolvers, rifles, and bowie- 
knives, are admitted into the country. A happy time, gener- 
ally, might then be expected. 

Parties interested in some enormous and outrageous specula- 
tion, occasionally appear in print, and it would not be very 
natural to look for much disinterested or consistent correspond- 
ence from this source. 

The partizans of General Comontoet are also at work,. and 
not unfrequently it is carefully whispered to the press, that an 
" under current " is silently and surely working in favor of the 
return of the ex-President, 

These kind of agencies, and others of minor importance, have 
been at work in the general correspondence from Mexico during 
the past three years ; and such a mass of confused and conflict- 
ing statements has been thrown upon the public during 
this period, that the principles involved in the Mexican revolu 
tion, the main facts, and the real issue, have been almost entirely 
lost sight of Carefully prepared, truthful, and intelligent 
communications from Mexico, by reliable and regular correspond- 
ents, have stood no more chance in this community than the 
most common trash ever penned. But it is to be hoped that 
the fog which has enveloped the Mexican question is clearing 
away, and that, as the issue narrows down to a closing point, 
public journalists, at least, will take up the matter with more 
satisfaction and better effect. 



60 



PUBLIC OPINION ON MEXICO. 

In the first number of tlie Mexican Papers we published an 
article from the lievue des Deux 2fondes^ as an example of the 
erroneous public opinion that prevails in regard to Mexico. 
We now give another example of the same character, taken 
from the London Saturday Review of May 26th, 1860, and 
entitled 

SPANISH AMERICAN REPUBLICS. 

" The Spanish American republics have now for thii'ty years 
been the opprobrium of Liberty, and the friends of free in- 
stitutions have 2:i"ie^"ed over them too lons^ not to be s'lad of 
any explanation which does away with the necessity of dwell- 
ing on their wild pell-mell of revolutions, constitutions, civil 
wars, and dictatorships. Such an explanation is furnished by 
an interesting paper in the lievue des Deux Mondes. The 
point of it is that the disturbances of Mexico and of South 
America proceed nearly exclusively from the Indian element 
in those countries. Englishmen have been dimly conscious 
that the so-called Spanish Americans are a mongrel race, but 
they have probably had very inadequate ideas of the extent to 
which the Spanish blood has been diluted, and it is certainly 
J a fact known to few, that almost every revolutionary leader is 
a pui'e Indian. We are curiously misled b}^ the Spanish- 
sounding names of these Mexican and South American worth- 
ies. Many of us have the impression that Juarez, Vidauri, 
and Degollado are as actual Spanish gentlemen as Sartorius, 
Narvaez, and O'Donnell. Yet the truth is, that the three 
persons named, who are all Mexicans, generals, and constitu- 
tionalists, are neither more nor less than full-blooded Indians, 
and are therefore much nearer relations of the Ojibbeways who 
^were exhibited in London a few seasons ago than of any 
hidalgo in Spain. It need not be said that this circumstance 
entu'ely destroys the importance of the Spanish American revo- 
lutions as precedents or illustrations. The King of Siam, ac- 



61 

cording to Sir John Bo wring, is a very intelligent sovereign, 
and the establishment of a Nepaulese repuV>lic at Katmandoo 
would be a very singular event, but nobody would dream of 
basing any political lesson on the intellect of the Siamese mon- 
arch, or on the democratic institutions of Nepaul. Consciously 
or unconsciously, we regard no changes of government as polit- 
ical phenomena having interest for ourselves, except such as 
occur among races which were reared in the religion and 
civilization of Western Europe. A revolution or civil war in 
Spanish America is, at most, cuiious. The only feeling stronger 
than curiosity which it should excite, is pity for the minority 
of Europeans, or semi-Europeans, which remains in most of 
these countries, and is oppressed or massacred at pleasure by 
masters who, 'though they speak Spanish and call themselves 
Christians, are, in reality, savages set loose. 

" The difference between a European and an Indian leader, 
is well illustrated by the history of the rival Presidents of 
the Mexican Republic. Juarez, the so-called constitutional 
President, who was lately besieged in Vera Cruz, is, as has 
been stated, an Indian of unmixed blood. Miramon, who has 
been styled the President of the church party, is, on the con- 
trary, a Frenchman by the father's side, and a Spaniard by the 
mother's — in other words, a European, descended from two of 
the finest races in Europe. Of the merits of the contest in 
which these two leaders are engaged, we shall only say that 
it has been grossly misapprehended in the United vStates and 
in England, It turns on the confiscation of church property ; 
and this circumstance has caused some degree of mild favor to 
be extended here and in America to Juarez, who is the cham- 
pion of the anti-clerical faction. But it is the most foolish of 
mistakes to institute a comparison between the pillage of the 
Roman Catholic church in Mexico, and the curtailment of its 
excessive endowments in such a country as Sardinia. The 
Mexican clergy are certainly indolent and ignorant, according 
to European standards ; but with all their defects, they alone 
prevent the Mexican people from relapsing into the belief and 
practices of savage life. The Haytien negro, when the destruc- 
tion of the whites relieved him from the control of his priests, 



63 

went straiglit back to his Obi, whicli he scarcely deigns to 
overlay with a thin varnish of Christianity ; and the Mexican, 
whether Indian or mongrel, can scarcely even now be kept, by 
all the vigilance of his spiritual pastor, from throwing himself 
into sorcery and fetish worship. The cause of the Roman 
Catholic chui'ch in Mexico is, therefore, for once, the cause of 
civilization ; and, if the truth were known, it would probably 
be found that Juarez, who is panegyrized by the American pa- 
pers as the liberal and enlightened antagonist of spiritual des- 
potism, is simply the foe of the priests because he prefers some 
private enchantment of his own to the celebration of the mass. 
It is not, however, in their views of clerical influence that Mi- 
ramon and Juarez are most advantageously contrasted. The 
writer in the Revue des Deux Mondes mentions several inci- 
dents in Miramon's career, which are curiously characteristic 
of the European as distinguished from the Indian. He was 
originally called to the presidency while engaged in a cam- 
paign at a distance from the capital. A pronunciamento had 
been successfully accomplished in the city of Mexico, and the 
revolutionists thought to strengthen themselves by placing at 
their head a young and victorious general. Miramon, immedi- 
ately on his return to Mexico, disavowed the entire revolution 
and refused to accept the distinction proffered to him. This 
unheard of disinterestedness naturally caused him to be looked 
upon as a very different sort of conservative from any hitherto 
known in that country, and is the foundation of all his politi- 
cal influence. Other actions of his, mentioned in the JRevue^ 
are his immediate restoration of large sums of money seized by 
his lieutenants, and his repeated refusals to shed more blood 
than could be helped. The virtues thus indicated would not 
be extraordinarily remarkable in Europe, and it is evident that 
in Mexico they might have proceeded quite as much from cal- 
culation as from character; but the thing to be noted is, that 
these actions of Miramon's are just those which no man of 
Indian breed is capable of practicing. No politician of the 
native race ever yet sacrificed the opportunity of elevating 
himself to station, or gave back money which he could spend, 
or spared an enemy whom it was safe to kill. Juarez sold his 



63 

* 

country to the Americans without a pang ; but civilized men 
have done this before him, and the fatal symjDtom about him 
is not his treason, but his inability to forego an immediate for 
an ultimate advantage, or to disappoint for one day his savao-e 
instincts of cupidity and revenge. 

"In all Central and South America there are only two 
countries — Brazil and Chili — which are not governed by ab- 
solute dictators under the form of a republic. With hardly 
one exception, these dictators are pure Indians, or mulattoes 
in whom the Indian and negro are mixed, or men with some 
Spanish blood in their veins, who, like the early Norman 
settlers in Ireland, have contracted a taste for savage life, and 
have abjured the habits of civilization. Of this last class there 
are some curious samples in South America — such as Urquiza 
in the Argentine Confederation, Castilla in Peru, and the 
Monagas family, who, though now displaced, all but succeeded 
in founding a dynasty in Venezuela. All these dictators have 
one peculiarity in common. Though they have all commenced 
their reign by expelling the legislature of their country at 
the point of the bayonet, they invariably belong to the con- 
stitutionalists, or liberal party. This party has its newspapers 
and its pamphlets, on looking into which the reader sees the 
maxims of extreme French socialistic democracy enforced in 
stately Castilian. Is there, then, a leaven of socialism in Span- 
ish America ? Not a bit of it. It is all sham and a pretence, 
like the Christianity, the civilization, and the European tongue. 
The true contest is between Unitarianism and Federalism^ a 
dispute which in form involves the question whether the State 
shall be governed from its capital or shall be split into nearly 
independent provinces, but which in reality resolves itself into 
a struggle between the European and the Indian — ^the man of 
culture and the savage. All the enlightenment and education 
of Spanish America is confined to the older cities, the seats of 
Spanish dominion under the monarchy. If the Unitarians 
prevail, it is the comparatively civilized capital which governs 
the wild men of the provinces. If the Federalists have their 
way, the savage of the open country rules the civilized man of 
the city. As a fact, the controversy has universally ended in 



04 

4 

the triumpli of tlie Federalists ; and as the Indians and mon- 
grels who are the strength of this faction, have no idea of free- 
dom, and no capacity for rule, their success has always resulted 
in the boldest or Lloodiest among them seizing the reins of 
government and proclaiming himself dictator. We have said 
that if these events excite any emotion in us, it should be com- 
passion for the unhappy inhabitants of such places as Lima, 
Quito, Caraccas, Buenos Ayres, Montevideo, or the City of 
Mexico. Their civilization is but a poor one at best, but they 
have had theii' age of heroism and a short era of freedom, and 
they have sensibility enough to feel the humiliation as well as 
the other consequences of being governed by men who always 
conduct themselves like savages, and sometimes like monsters." 

It is very fortunate for the London Saturday Review^ that 
the Spanish American countries are so indifferently compre- 
hended, and that public opinion on those regions is so gene- 
rally ^^Tong; otherwise, its enviable reputation might be 
seriously damaged. We rarely meet with an article on our 
subject so open to severe exception as the preceding. It is a 
review of that which we have given from the French Revue. 
In the display of partizan zeal, in support of a heathen des- 
potism, in pointed error, and a disdainful disregard of facts, 
the Englishman transcends the Frenchman ; and yet, there are 
journals in the United States of respectable standing, that copy 
the English production, and endorse it as an interesting article 
upon the ethnological and political forces now at work in 
Spanish America ! Here we have a clear illustration of the 
manner in which the channels of information relative to Span- 
ish America in general, and to Mexico in particular, have been 
used by the instruments of evil for evil purposes. We cannot 
marvel that nearly all the history extant respecting those 
countries, has educated the public mind to receive as trath 
such fallacious and incorrect essays as we are quoting from 
influential journals, published in the great centres of civilization. 

We must felicitate the London writer on the possession of 
extraordinary acumen. He discovers, in the paper from the 
Revue des Deux Mondes, a thorough solution of the Spanish 



65 

American problen. His mind rises jubilant, and he would 
fain communicate his joy to the world, proclaiming that the 
Mends of free institutions may no- longer grieve over this 
" wild pell-mell of revolutions, constitutions, civil wars, and 
dictatorships" of Spanish American countries — because — " they 
proceed nearly excluswely from the Indian element in those 
countries^ This is really comforting ; and how remarkable \ 
A few dashes of the pen in the French Bevite, has settled the 
fate of a considerable portion of the earth's surface — an area 
of 7,653,994 square miles, mth a population of 35,163,028, 
and a trade of $503,736,693. 

The article in the English Review goes on to denounce what 
it terms the pure Indian leaders in Mexico. It eulogizes 
MiEAMoif as a descendant of two of the finest races in Europe 
(French and Spanish), and a general and statesman of high 
order. The English and American public are told, that in 
showing any thing like " mild favor" to the liberal cause in 
Mexico, we "grossly misapprehend" the question. We are 
assured with the most brazen assurance that no comparison 
can be instituted between the Eoman Catholic church in Mex- 
ico and the Eoman Catholic church in Sardinia, and that the 
"Mexican clergy alone prevent the Mexican people from 
relapsing into the belief and practices of savage life. There- - 
fore," continues the Review, " the cause of the Roman Catholic 
church in Mexico is for once the cause of civilizationy 

In this last declaration lies the great error of public opinion 
on Mexico ; and until exactly the contrary, which is the truth, 
gains credence in the public mind, Mexico will find no peace 
at home, or proper appreciation abroad. 

In speaking adversely of the Mexican church, we do not wish 
to be considered as entering upon a warfare against the Roman 
Oatliolic church. We regard the Mexican church as essentially 
a Pagan church ; and if the Roman Catholic church considers 
the Mexican church a Catholic institution, that merits the 
support of all good Catholics, then we believe that the sooner 
the Roman Catholic church disappears from the face of 
the earth, the better. On the subject of religion, we are 
particularly tolerant. We are favorably inclined to any 



66 

religion tliat does not oifend good manners. We tave seen 
several established churches in several different countries, and 
regard them all, if not slightly ailing, somewhat behind the 
steam-engine, the electric telegraph, the clipper-ship, the cotton 
gin, the sewing-machine, Colt's revolvers, Sharpens rifles, et 
cetera^ in the great race of civilization and progress. 

But to return to our subject. In contradiction of the asser- 
tion of the London Saturday Jteview, that " for once the cause 
of the Roman Catholic church in Mexico is the cause of civiliza- 
tion," we will oppose one of the "Mitla" letters, bearing date, 
City of Mexico, July 1, 1859 : 

"The 23d of June is the feast day of Corpus Christy the 
greatest of all days in the city of Mexico. That just passed 
was celebrated here with the usual ceremonious pomp. 

"The calendar of the Mexican church sets down the day as 
follows : 

" ' June 23 — Thursday. — Duty of vigil and fasting. The solemnity of the 
most holy body of our Lord Jesus Christ, Saint Zenon and Saint Zenas, his 
slave. Calenda in the cathedral. For eight days his Divine Majesty will 
be exhibited in nearly all the churches. In the cathredal and the collegiate 
churches there will be full indulgence during the eight days. A solemn 
procession, with the assistance of the Supreme Government, will start from 
the cathedral in the morning. In La Concepcion these eight days will be 
celebrated with much solemnity, and there will be sermons during this 
period. At night this festivity will be celebrated in the holy schools. Solemn 
vespers and matins in San Juan de la Penitencia.' 

"The order of performance on this day is as follows : 

" ' Nine salutes of twenty-one guns each will be fired by the Palace Artil- 
lery, placed in the grand plaza. The first salute will be fired at dawn ; the 
second at the commencement of mass in the Holy Cathedral Church ; the 
third at the elevation of the Host ; the fourth on the conclusion of Mass ; 
the fifth when the most Holy Host comes out of the cathedral in the proces- 
sion ; the sixth when His Divine Majesty passes the National Theatre ; the 
seventh when His Divine Majesty enters the Holy Cathedral Church ; the 
eighth at noon ; and ninth at the going down of the sun. The chief of bat- 
tery will have his telegraphs arranged, so as to give the salutes at the right 
time. 

" ' At 6 o'clock in the morning there shall be a general beating of drums. 



67 

and for this purpose, all the bands of music of all the bodies which are to 
form shall, before that hour, congegrate in the Palace courts, that the gen- 
eral outburst of music may commence when the cornet of the Central Guard 
of the Palace gives the signal that the hour has arrived ; and these bands 
shall then proceed by the shortest road to the respective quarters. 

" ' The music of the artillery of the line shall congregate in the Military 
Colleges of San Pedro and San Pablo at 7 in the morning, to march with 
the military scholars, who will come to escort the Most Excellent Senor, 
the President, to the Cathedral, where the said scholars shall fire three 
times, in the following order: first, at the commencement of Mass ; second, 
at the elevation of the Host ; third, at the conclusion of Mass. The military 
scholars shall then proceed to the door of the Cathedral on the Empedra- 
dillo side, to march behind the Most Excellent Senor, the President, in the 
procession. 

" ' The Mun c.pal body, in all its force, shall be at the Palace of Chapul- 
tepec at 6 in the morning, to escort the Most Excellent Senor, the President, 
thence to the Palace in the city, and after His Excellency has arrived there, 
the Municipal body shall take the position given it in the street Santo 
Domingo. 

" ' At precisely 8 o'clock the battalion of Grenadiers of the Guard will 
form at the door of the principal saloon of the Palace, and proceed to the 
main entrance of the Cathedral. 

" ' At 9 o'clock, the battalion of Sappers of the Second Light Permanent 
Battalion will form, covering the First from the door of the Convent of 
Santa Clara to the Church of the Professa, and the Second from this point 
to the door of the Cathedral. At the same hour, the artillery will form in 
the Empedradillo, wiih its front on Montepio. The regiment of Mexican 
Lancers will form at the same hour, on the street of the Escalerillas, resting 
its right on the corner of the first street, Santo Domingo. 

" 'The municipal body will form at the same hour in the first street of Santo 
Domingo, resting its right on the corner of Tacuba-street. Following this 
body, the ambulances, with their respective dotation, will take position. 

"'The mounted squadron of the municipal body will, in anticipation of all, 
take its position on the corner of Tacuba-street, to open the march of the 
procession. 

" ' The national flag shall be raised on all the public buildings from day- 
light until the going down of the sun.' 

"The ringing of bells is so general as not to be included in tlie 
wretched programme, of wliicli the above forms about one-half; 
but it includes most of the arrangements, and enables one to 
comprehend what a singular exhibition feast-days afford, of 
cannon firing, music, civil and military parades, and heathenish 
forms and ceremonies. These exhibitions in this country are 



68 

of a lower order than can be found on tlie continent of Europe. 
An eye-'wdtness of these performances can form an accurate con- 
ception of bow completely this old pagan cliurcli has been inter- 
woven with the entire fabric of Mexican institutions and society, 
and comprehend why it is that Mexico is called a disgrace to 
civilization and to free institutions. 

" After witnessing the ceremony of mass in the cathedral, I 
took my station just outside of the main entrance, to note the 
people as they came out, and the foi-ming of the solemn pro- 
cession. First appeared a body of the native Indians of the 
country, bearing tawdry banners with strange devices, candles, 
and lanterns. These Indians are pure representatives of the 
original races. Their language is the same as in the days of 
the Aztecs; their habits and manners of living are worse. 
They continue to eat tortillas and chili, and drink pulque ; and 
they bear burdens like beasts. Their countenances exhibit but 
a slight degree of intelligence. Their features are disagreeable, 
they have no symmetry of form, are scantily dressed, and both 
men and women are filthy in personal appearance generally. 
They "can neither read nor ^viite — have no knowledge of the 
computation of time, numbers, or distances, not even the 
knowledsre contained in that huo;e Aztec calendar of stone that 
rests against the side of the cathedral. They are idolators in 
the strictest sense of the word, having lost all comprehension 
of their ancient theology, which really did contain some good 
and elevating notions and ideas, which we call Christian; and 
they are now left without aspirations or ability to understand 
the fundamental principles of the Christian religion, or, in fact, 
any thing of the kind, above that which takes the material form 
of picture, image, tree, bush, rock, beast, or bird. They have 
lost that general intelligence and knowledge of certain arts 
and sciences which they possessed at the time of the conquest, 
and are immeasurably lower in the scale of humanity than at 
that period. Year by year, they turn out legions of syphilitic 
and leprous beggars, to swell the millions of witnesses against 
the Mexican church. This is the native Indian of the present 
day in the pagan district of Mexico. It is true, he does not 
sacrifice his fellow man on the altars of his gods, but he has 



69 

been sacrificed and pressed into tlie work of butcliery and rob- 
bery, by wliicli a thousand victims have fallen on the altars of 
human lusts, to one on those of the Aztec gods. This is the 
fruit of three centuries of Spanish rule,and nearly half a century 
of the Mexican church despotism alone. 

"Following the body of Indians with banners, etc., at the 
head of this solemn procession comes a band of music. Next 
is General de la Vega, the one taken prisoner by May at 
Gerro Gordo, and now Governor of the District of Mexico, 
attended by sundry of the _ civil authorities. The general is 
by no means a bad looking man. He has become somewhat 
portly and quite gray. He is neither very popular nor unpop-. 
ular with either party ; lives comfortably as a man can dui'ing 
these times, and takes matters generally very easy. Next in 
the procession we have what is called the " Supreme Govern- 
ment" of the Republic of Mexico, composed of Miramon and 
his Cabinet, and attended by a company of military officials, 
dressed in very rich uniforms. Miramon, who marches be. 
tween Bonilla and Munez Ledo, appears to be about twenty- 
eight or thirty years of age, five feet eight inches high, and of 
slender, genteel figure, which is well set oif by his fine uniform. 
He has beautiful brown hair, wears a moustache and goatee a 
la Napoleon^ and his complexion is not dark, but slightly 
muddy. His eyebrows are finely pencilled, and there is a bad, 
sinister expression about his eyes and mouth. Miramon may 
be called a handsome man, but his countenance, head, and en- 
tire bearing, give no evidence of commanding intellect or traits 
of character, such as we look for in a superior general or states- 
man. Miramon is nothing of the kind. He is bad at heart, 
and inferior in intellect and education. He owes his present 
position and fame, simply to the scarcity of any thing above the 
rank of mediocrity in Mexico in these days, and to the other 
fact that the clergy seized upon him as a pliant tool. Behind 
Miramon, his cabinet and suite, we have, according to the pro- 
gramme, quite a respectable looking body of cadets, or military 
scholars. The military and civic bodies of the City of Mexico, 
now passing in review before us, are of the same order of 
heathen as the Indians who headed the procession. The former 



70 

excel the latter only in dress and capacity for deviltry. We 
will, therefore, allow them to pass, and come to the pith — the 
cream of the republic — or the hub, the pivot, the axis, if you 
please, on Avhicli the wisdom of man and the glory and mercy 
of God, in Mexico, are supposed to revolve. I mean the eccle- 
siastics, that holy body of men who go about with shaved heads, 
and wear woollen gowns and huge hats. Those representatives 
of His Divine Majesty, who, looking over their broad domain, 
count millions of human beings sacrificed in the name of the 
cross; herds of diseased, deformed beggars, and a decaying 
population; languishing hospitals, ruined towns, cities, and 
roads ; no literature, no press worthy the name, no education, 
no standard of virtue, private or public, no telegraphs, no rail- 
roads, no improvements, no commerce, no trade; and while 
civil war rages and blood flows on every side, they count their 
millions in gold and silver, and bid the hellish work go on. 

" In this procession we have a large number of the ecclesiastics 
of the City of Mexico before us. These are Friars of the Dom- 
inican, Franciscan, Augustin, Carmelite, and Mercederian orders. 
There are Jesuits, padres, bishops, and last of all, that old head 
pagan, the Archbishop. The eye can take in at a glance, 
say, one hundred of these pagan officials. Fowler &, Wells' 
fingers would fairly revel in delight to pass over the shaved 
pates and expose the frightful propensities of this beastly 
crew. The portraits of these one hundred Mexican ecclesiastics 
upon which my eye now rests, hung up in Washington, would 
be sufficient to solve the Mexican problem in the United States. 
Worse shaped heads, or more disgusting, repulsive counte- 
nances and persons than those exhibited by the priesthood in 
the pagan districts of Mexico, cannot be found in the most de- 
graded nation on earth. Most of them have thick necks and 
heavy joles. Some wear an expression nearly idiotic, and the 
balance have a gross, sensual, beastly look. They are learned 
in their pagan lore, and cunning in the gratification of their 
licentious and avaricious propensities. Beyond this their wis- 
dom does not extend. Here you have the priesthood of 
Mexico, the bane and curse of the country, and yet claiming 
Jesus Christ as the founder of their religion. If Jesus Christ 



n 

should now make his appearance on earth, and attempt to 
enter the pagan district via Vera Cruz, preaching and practising 
his original doctrines, if he got fhrther than Perote, this same 
priesthood would crucify him before he had been in Puebla 
twenty-four hours. 

" But the procession moves on, and the priests have passed. 
The Archbishop, an aged, fat man, tottering on the borders of 
the grave, brings up the rear, carrying the Host, and supported 
by two bishops. The large plaza and surrounding streets are 
filled by a motley, miscellaneous crowd, numbering several 
thousands. The general ringing of bells and firing of cannon 
have ceased. The solemn tolling of the huge, deep toned cath- 
edral bell is alone heard as the Host appears in view of the 
multitude. Immediately every head is uncovered, and the 
vast multitude is seen kneeling. For a moment I was awed 
by the scene, which was really solemn, and the hinges of my 
knees were pregnant with the intent of kneeling, in conformity 
with the custom. Then the enormity of the humbug flashed 
through my mind, and my knees became staunch and firm 
again. During this momentary conflict of feeling, the Host 
passed by, and the crowd around me began to rise. I felt re- 
lieved that I had not kneeled with the pagans, and in so doing 
had attracted no notice. Not many years ago a Christian 
could not have thus exposed himself on this spot without in- 
curring insult and injury. In 1824, shortly before the adoption 
of the Federal Constitution, an American shoemaker, living on 
the plaza, was kneeling over a chair in the door of his shop, 
during the performance of this same ceremony. An official of 
some sort happening to pass by, ordered the shoemaker to go 
down on his knees on the floor. The American replied that 
he was doing all that was required, whereupon the official drew 
a sword from under his cloak, and ran the man through the body, 
killing him instantly. The murderer walked away, and never 
was arrested. Mr. Wilcox was then United States Consul. 
He could obtain no permission to bury the body in any proper 
place about the city, but finally, in connection with Mr. Wood- 
bury, and Mr. Black, now United States Consul in Mexico, he 
made arrangements for burial at Tacubaya. The procession 



72 

started from tlie plaza in three carriages, followed by a yelling 
mob of leperos. Before they had proceeded far, the carriage 
containing Messrs. Wilcox and Woodbury broke down, upon 
which the mob commenced throwing stones at these gentlemen, 
and they were obliged to flee for their lives. Mr. Black then 
drove to a euartel^ and asked for a guard. There were some 
good liberals in those days, and the officer to whom Mr. Black 
applied, happened, fortunately, to be one of them. ' Cursed is 
the country that tolerates friars,' said the officer, and he im- 
mediately detailed a guard of six men and ordered them to fire 
on the first person that offered to insult or retard the proces- 
sion. They were thus escorted to Tacubaya in safety, and the 
shoemaker was buried ; but those who performed this melan- 
choly duty were scarcely out of sight before the body was dug 
up, torn apart, the fragments scattered over the ground, and 
the clothes carried off. 

" The wholesale massacres perpetrated by the church armies, 
and particularly that recently consummated at Tacubaya, by 
Miramon and Marquez, when the ecclesiastics appeared and in- 
cited a drunken soldiery to unheard of deeds of barbarity, and 
encouraged all abandoned women to strip naked the mangled 
corpses of the victims, prove that no real improvement has 
taken place in their priesthood or their religion since that 
period. Ought not the liberals to receive the aid of civilized 
nations, in their efforts to destroy this pagan church and 
nationalize its property ? 

" But the most important part of the ceremonies of the day 
are over. We will go out into the street and take a view of the 
Archbishop's carriage, called the ' Coche de sa Divina Majestad^ 
The coach, with four piebald mules, stands in the street ready 
to receive his holiness. It is built somewhat after the fashion 
of the day, massive, and excessively flashy in paint, silver, and 
gold. The ground of the panels and wheels is mazarine blue. 
The hubs appear to be tipped off with silver. There is a large 
golden glory ^ with an eye in the centre, affixed, each, to the 
rear and the front. The glass is of the thickest and finest plate ; 
the interior is lined with heavy, drab-colored brocade silk, 
sumptuously stuffed. A large arm-chair, trimmed in the same 



73 

style, occupies tlie entire back part as a fixture. In the front 
there are seats for two. The panels are covered with exquisite 
little paintings, representing the Archbishop's arms, and other 
church devices. I looked all over the carriage, in search of a 
representation of the Saviour riding on an ass, but found 
nothing of the kind. " Mitla." 

This is the Mexican priesthood, " who alone," says the London 
Saturday Remew^ "prevent the Mexican people from relapsing 
into the belief and practices of savage life." This, according 
to the same authority, is the " Roman Catholic church in Mexico, 
whose cause for once is the cause of civilization." Here we have 
a faithful portraiture of the Mexican church and clergy in these 
central districts of the country where, to the present day, the 
church maintains its power. But there is a wide distinction 
between these limited church districts of which the cities of 
Mexico, Puebla, and Queretaro form the centres, and the sur- 
rounding states, all of which have thrown off the dominion 
of the church, taken up arms in the liberal cause, and are now 
fighting for civil and religious liberty. The masses of the 
people in the liberal states are more intelligent, better educa- 
ted, and both mentally and physically, they are far superior to 
the people of the church districts. The more remote from, the 
church, the better you find the people. The population of 
Sonora, we consider superior to that of any other state in the 
confederacy. 

Foreign ambassadors reside in the City of Mexico ; travel- 
lers visit the City of Mexico ; and in all time past, writers of 
every grade have caught up impressions formed in the City of 
Mexico, and given to the world thoroughly false notions of 
Mexico and the Mexican people. Foreigners look with dis- 
gust upon the mass of degraded humanity that yet clings to 
the Mexican church in the central districts. These foreigners, ^ 
for the most part, leave the country denouncing the entire 
Mexican race as a degraded, worthless portion of the human 
family ; and yet, they uphold the cause of all this — ^the Mexi- 
can church — and every device is used in order that the Chris- 
tian Powers may be injduced to sustain this wicked and de- 



^ 



74 

structive hierarchy awhile longer. This is the extraordinary 
feature of the Mexican question. It is a fact that cannot be 
explained on any principles of right or justice, which are sup- 
posed to have some influence in the regulation of the world's 
affairs, in this enlightened age. The fundamental en-or is, the 
belief that the Spaniards ever christianized Mexico. We 
deny that the Spaniards ever did any thing of the kind ; and 
we deny the existence of any thing like decent religion, of 
whatever name or nature, in the Mexican church, as we find it 
in the central district of Mexico at the present day. 

Among the secular clergy — the poor cures — scattered ever 
the country, good and worthy men who do not belie their call- 
ing, ai'e sometimes found. But when we come to the regular 
clergy, in the central part of Mexico, we find little or nothing 
of the kind. Perhaps no picture of human depravity that 
could be produced, would appear so revolting as a faithful rep- 
resentation of the private life of this class of Mexican eccle- 
siastics. The representation, given in all its filthy details, 
would not be fit for the public eye, and we will not undertake 
the disgusting task. 

These ecclesiastics of Mexico are a thorough combination and 
condensation of avarice and licentiousness. It was the same at 
the time of the conquest. If any thing, they were better then 
than now. The Mexican church had no direct communication 
with the See of Rome until after the country became independ- 
ent of Spain. Up to that period, the government of Spain 
responded to Rome for the church in Mexico, and, under this 
arrangement, Spain not only derived a revenue from that church 
which otherwise would have accrued to Rome, but she exer- 
cised all her ingenuity in the invention of new modes by which 
money could be extracted from the Mexican nation, by means 
of the machinery of the church. Between the mother country 
and the Mexican church, there was a tacit, if not expressed, 
compact, that each should play into the other's hands. Church 
and State had a mutual interest in sustaining each other, while 
each pursued its own peculiar system of plunder. Cortez him- 
self was startled by these facts at the very commencement, and 
hence, we have indubitable evidence that the evils under which 



75 

Mexico is suffering are not of slow growth, "but are, in truth, 
coexistent with the discovery and conquest of the country by 
the Spaniards ; and it is worthy of note, that the great con- 
quistador foresaw that his own stupendous exertions and suc- 
cesses might bring forth bitter fruit. Nothing is more significant 
of this, and the true state of affairs at the time, than his own 
words. 

In one of his letters to Chaeles V., dated Mexico, October 
15, 1524, three years subsequent to the conquest, Coetez, after 
representing to his Majesty the evil of allowing bishops, prelates, 
etc., to have command of much wealth, continues as follows : 

" A still greater evil would result from this state of things. The natives 
of this country formerly had their priests, who were engaged in oonducting 
the rites and ceremonies of their religion ; and so strict were they in the 
practice of honesty and chastity, that any deviation therefrom was pun- 
ished with death. N^ow if they saw that the afikirs of the church and what 
related to the service of God were intrusted to canons and other dignita- 
ries, and if they understood that these were the ministers of God whom 
they beheld indulging in vicious habits and profaneness, as is the case in 
these days in Spain, it would lead them to undervalue our faith, and treat it 
with derision, and all the preaching in the world would not be able to coun- 
teract the mischief arising from this source." 

Here we have the extraordinary testimony, and under 
the hand of Coetez himself, "that if the honest and chaste 
natives of Mexico were allowed to witness the vicious 
habits and profaneness of the ministers of the Christian 
God as practiced in those days in Spain, all the preaching 
in^ the world would not be able to counteract the mischief 
arising from this source." What a potent and afflicting commen- 
tary on the times ! But the warning voice of Coetez, the result 
of inspiration in the conqueror, who had the true interest of the 
conquered country at heart, fell on perverted ears, and his 
words on that subject have proved a prophecy fulfilled ! For 
three hundred and forty years the natives of Mexico have wit- 
nessed the vicious habits of those who came to them as minis- 
ters of the Christian God, and all the preaching in the world 
cannot redeem the evil of the past, or counteract the mischief 
arising from this source in the future, so far as the natives are 
concerned. 



76 

Tliis Mexican cliurch has been tlie bane, tlie curse of tlie 
countiy, liolding the consciences of the people, and the purse- 
strings of the nation, with a diabolical, sordid spirit, and an 
unyielding grasp. Throughout the rule of the Viceroys, the 
clergy were keenly jealous of every movement that looked 
like an infringement of their j^ower and special privileges, 
and ever on the alert to crush the fii'st semblance of patriot- 
ism and liberality. Occupying this position, it has constituted 
itself an ecclesiastic corporation, with no accountability to 
either God or man, holding its power, and ruling from age 
to age under sj^ecial j)rivileges, and for the sole purjDose of 
accumulating and holding property. Is this Christianity ? Is 
this the business of a Christian church ? It is generally sup- 
posed that Christianity does not require wealth in its ministers 
as the basis of their power and influence. According to the 
law of Christ, 2ipoor' priest is a saving grace — a rich one is a 
living lie. 

Why will not the civilized world receive this simple com- 
prehension of the matter, and give the people of Mexico its 
sympathy in their efforts to overthrow this moneyed priest- 
oligarchy, which has so long been tolerated under the name 
of Christianity f 

The systematic efforts of the Mexican liberals to rid their 
country of this intolerable oligarchy, commenced with the fall 
of Iturbide. The patriots of Mexico thenceforth attempted 
to frame a federal constitution, and it was contemplated 
to incorporate freedom of religion in the new constitution. 
But the clergy nipped the effort in the bud, and the new con- 
stitution came forth, tolerating only the Mexican church. The 
war of principles had, however, commenced, and several very 
decided efforts were made in the early days of the republic to 
throw oft' the power of the priesthood. The legislature of the 
State of Jalisco decreed the confiscation of the whole of the 
church property in that State, pledging itself to make a suitable 
I provision for the ministers of religion at the public expense. 
'The project was sanctioned by the seventh article of the consti- 
tution of the State ; but the clergy having refused to take the 
oath upon such terms, and resisted, by a threat of excommuni- 



11 

cation, an attempt on tlie part of tlie civil authorities to oblige 
tliem to submit, tlie question was referred to tlie General Con- 
gress, wMcli, on December 22, 1824, issued a decree, prohibiting 
the states from taking any measures calculated to diminish the 
revenues of the church, without the full concurrence of the 
ecclesiastical authorities, until the time should arrive at which 
the Greneral Congress should think it expedient to enact a law 
for the regulation of the right of patronage throughout the 
republic. 

It is interesting to note, that Mr. Waed, the English minister 
in 1827, regarded all such movements as the above as dangerous 
and unjust innovations. Speaking of the decree of Congress, 
prohibiting the confiscation of the church property in the State 
of Jalisco, Waed, in his truly valuable and honestly written 
work, says: 

" This measure, although it has been much criticised, was undoubtedly 
productive of the very best effects, as it put a stop to encroachments on the 
part of the states, for which the country was by no means prepared, and 
yet left the door open for all necessary reforms, whenever there was an 
attempt to exercise spiritual jurisdiction in such a manner a.& to affect the 
rights and privileges of any other class of citizens." 

"Productive of the very best efi*ects," says Mr. Waed, em- 
phatically. A recapitulation of the " effects " from that day to 
the present shows that even Mr. Waed's enlightened under- 
standing made a great mistake ; and when we come to investi- 
gate the relations that have existed between Mexico and those 
countries called Christian, we find occasion for a large charity 
toward the Mexicans. This comparatively poor and ignorant 
people are not accountable for the crime, misery, and ills of 
every nature, that have afflicted their country. The guilt lies 
with the Christian powers of earth, whose high representatives, 
misled and influenced by a few bankers, government contractors, 
and fraudulent importers, have either vidnked at the enormity 
of Mexican misrule or failed to discover it, and invariably 
brought down a cold .and crushing influence on every rising 
aspiration for real freedom and independence. This, in reality, 
is the influence that has predominated and ruled in Mexican 
affairs since the separation from Spain. 



IS 

The article we publish, from the London Saturday Heview^ 
corroborates all this. It is the most thorough and complete 
exposition of mistaken public opinion in England, relative to 
Mexico, that we have seen. 

There is one more point in this English Review article, which 
we cannot suffer to 2->ass without notice. It is wherein the 
London journal says : " No politician of the native race ever yet 
sacrificed the opportunity of elevating himself to station, or gave 
back money which he could spend, or spared an enemy whom 
it was safe to kill. Juarez sold his country to the Americans 
without a pang ; but civilized men have done this before him ; 
and the fatal symptom about him is not his treason, hut liis 
absolute inahility to forego an immediate for an ultimate advan^ 
tage, or to disappoint for one day Ms savage instincts of cu- 
pidity and revenged. 

We recctoimend the attention of the author of the above state- 
ment, whoever he may be, whether English, English-Mexican, or 
French, to the follovdng Mexican correspondence, on the ex- 
change of prisoners captured by the liberals in recent engage- 
ments : 

" YoTJR Excellency : His Excellency the Governor of the State of Zaca- 
tecas, Commander-in-Chief of the division formed of the forces of that State 
and the State of Aguascalientes, writes to me, under date of 16th inst., as 
follows : 

" Your Excellency : I have to-day written to Gen. Don Miguel Miramon, 
as follows: 'Yesterday, was completely defeated by the forces under my 
command, the division of Don Silverio Ramirez, leaving in my power all his 
artillery and trains, and more than a thousand prisoners, including over fift}' 
officers, as named in the adjoining list. The battle took place at the Ha- 
cienda of Penuelas, the enemy making a heroic resistance during three hours, 
until the field was covered with the slain, among which were several of his 
principal chiefs. 

" ' The Government of the State of Zacatecas took into its charge the pris- 
oners of Loma Alta (a pi-evious battle), and proposed them in exchange for 
his Excellency Gen, Don Jose Lopez Uraga and the other officers and of- 
ficials who remained in the power of the enemy in the assault on Guadala- 
jara on the 24th of the last month. This proposal was refused, but the 
Government of the State of Zacatecas, notwithstanding, immediately gave 
the order for their liberty without restriction, giving to each his respective 
passport. 

" ' The imdersigned now,animated by the same sentiments of humanity, and 



79 

as a proof of respect to the rights of humanitv, again proposes to the Generil- 
in-Chief of the forces ia Mexico operating in the State of Jalisco, the unre- 
stricted exchange of the present prisoners of Penuelas for his Excelleacy 
Gen, Uraga and the other officers above referred to, at the same time as; tir- 
ing the said General-in-Chief that whatever may be his reply, the undersign- 
ed will place at liberty these brare prisoners, whose exchange he proposes, 
as he has already done with the chief of the medical corps and his s^b- 
ordinates, notwithstanding the remembrance which he retains of the assassiiV 
ations of Tacubaya, leaving it to history to characterize the conduct of the 
chiefs of the respective contending forces. 

" ' The undersigned hopes that the General-ia-Chief of the above-named 
forces will be pleased to reply to the present note, and to accept the ass tr- 
ance of his consideration.' 

" ' And I have the honor to transcribe the same to your Excellency, for your 
superior information, hewing that you wiU be pleased to extend your ap- 
probation to the measure which I have taken with respect to the prisoners 
of war which are now in my power, because the same is in confoiToity v^ith 
the programme which has been adopted by the Liberal Party, and which is 
its most honorable distinction ; with the sentiments of humanity of your 
Excellency : with the principles of the rights of humanity ; and, above all, 
because there is involved the good name of the Liberal Party both at home 
and abroad.' 

" I have the honor of transmitting the same to your Excellency for the 
knowledge of his Excellency the President, and stating to your Excellency 
that I have given my approbation to the step taken by. Gen. Ortega, because 
I wish to persuade myself that some time, our proceedings will find an echo 
i^ the hearts of our misguided brothers. 

"I renew to your Excellency, with this opportunity, the assurances oi my 
attentive consideration. God and Liberty. 

" Sa^ttos Degollado. 
" To his Excellency the Minister of "War and Marine, 

"Vera Cruz. 

'-'■Headquarters, San Luis JPotosi^ June 20, 1860." 

P.EPLT OF THE MESISXEB OF WAE. 

" His Excellency the President has been infoiTaed of the official com- 
mimication of your Excellency, dated on the 20th of last month, ia which is 
inserted the communication of the Governor of Zacatecas, relative to the 
exchange of prisoners which has been proposed to Gen. Miramon, and 
which has received the approbation of yom: Excellency. 

"This generous proceeding of his worthy Excellency, Grov. Ortega, as 
was to be expected, has fuUy received, as it merited, the approbation of his 
Excellency the First Magistrate of the Republic, who has directed that the 
same be manifested to you in due reply. 

" The undersigned believes that by this act, the release of Gen. Uraga, 
and the other prisoners of Guadalajara, will finally be secured ; but should 



80 

s?ich not be the result, for no reason Avill there be cause to regret ha^'ing 
given liberty to the prisoners taken at Pcnuelos, not only because it is in 
conformity with the principles of the Constitutional Government, and of all 
tb.ose who defend legality, to show themselves magnanimous with the van- 
qifished, but because already the enemies of the Constitution are in great 
n^rt beginning to comprehend the evil their course is inflicting upon the 
/ountry ; and because, also, the true Republican, the lover of his kind, and 
^ctuated by generous instincts, is guided by rules of conduct diametrically 
Apposed to those which govern the faction which seeks to re-establish the 
'yi-anny of irresponsible power over the people, and to carry them back to 
the regime of past centuries. 

J " Before concluding this commimication, the undersigned feels it to be his 
(luty, as it his pleasure, to congratulate your Excellency and the Governor 
of Zacatecas upon an act which will pass into history, doing justice to the 
di^fenders of the cause of legality in Mexico. 

'i*' Tlie midersigned protests to your Excellency with this opportunity his 
distinguished esteem and consideration. God and liberty. 

" Ampfdia. 

"Fern Cniz, July 1, 1860. 

" To his Excellency Don Santos Degollado, the General-in-Chief 
" of the Federal Army, San Luis Potosi." 

"Zacatecas, June 9, 1860. 

"The resolution contained in the communication which, with the present 
writing, I despatch- to head-quarters, was already taken when I received 
yours of the 6th instant, in which I am instructed to set Don Romulo Diaz 
de la Yega at liberty. I immediately went to see that gentleman and #ie 
other prisoners, showed them the refusal of Gen. Miramon in regard to 
the proposed exchange, and the superior orders which I had just received 
from your Excellency. I assured them that they were at perfect liberty, 
and placed five hundred dollars at the disposition of Mr. Diaz de la Vega, 
who requested me to distribute it among his companions. 

" I have the honor to mention this in reply to your Excellency, repeating 
to you the protestations of my distinguished esteem and consideration. 
God, liberty, and reform. 

" Jestjs G. Ortega. 

" To his Excellency the General-m-Chief of the Federal Army at San 
Luis Potosi." 

Here we have a coiTespondence, sliowing that Oktega, 
general aud chief of an army of Mexicans, whom the jMexican 
priesthood " alone prevent from relapsing into the belief and 
practices of savage life," wiites to General Miramox, "descended 
from two of the first races in Eiu'ope," the most faithful servant 
and the brightest ornament of the Roman Catholic chui'ch in 



81 

Mexico, whose " cause, for once, is tlie cause of civilization," and 
proposes, on humane principles, an exchange of prisoners taken 
in battle. This correspondence passes to General Santos 
DegolladOj and from him to President Juaeez, president of 
that portion of the Mexican people whom the priesthood " alone 
prevent from relapsing into the belief and practices of savage 
life," and one of the " politicians of the native race, who never 
yet sacrificed an opportunity of elevating himself to station, or 
gave back money which he could spend, or spared an enemy 
whom it was safe to kill." 

The humane proposals for an exchange of prisoners, made by 
General Oetega, are approved by his superiors. But Miea- 
Moisr reuses to exchange^ whereupon. General Oetega sets Ms 
prisoners at libertij, gives tJiem money ^ and sends them on tJieir 
way rejoicing ! If this is " relapsing into the belief and prac- 
tices of savage life," we prefer to relapse, rather than be held 
to sustain the church in Mexico, as the cause of civilization. 

The sentiments and the acts disclosed in this Mexican cor- 
respondence, evince that noble consciousness of power, which 
the assurance of right can only give. We fear that some of 
the finest races in Euroj)e do not always entertain the same 
nobility of conscience. Juaeez is not a general. He is a 
lawyer of thorough education and high rank. It is tme, he is 
an Indian — the first, we believe, that ever headed a revolution 
or held power in Mexico. General Degollado has not a di^op 
of Indian blood in his veins. He has a fair skin, light hair, 
and blue eyes. General Oetega is also of the white race. 
But no matter what may be the particular blood or race of 
the acting parties, the foregoing correspondence would form a 
bright page in the history of any country ; and it is, of itself, 
a complete refntation of the extraordinary and reckless asser- 
tions we have noticed in the London Saturday Review. If 
any are " grossly deceived" in this matter, we think they are 
those who denounce the liberals and the cause of liberty in 
Mexico, not those who regard them with a " mild degree of 
favor." 



xw JL rxrj ivi.xji:\,<^iii>( 1 iiiJii Ji.LMJ ii'nl'uo i xvi-ti-xj v^ajfioo^u. 





-<^ 

[FIRST SERIES— No. 3.] SEPTEMBER 15th, 1860. Pbice 15 Cts. ^ 



THE 

MEXICAN PAPERS. 



'C 



*» 



THE MEXICO ^N QUESTION, 



THE GREAT AMERICAN QUESTION, 



"^txBouKl ^tmmsctwctSf 



EDWARD E. DUNBAR. 



A SERIAL-ISSUED SEMI-MONTHLY. 



I1.0SS Sc TOTTSEY", ISl IVassan Street, 

GENERAL AGENTS. 



NEW-yOHK : 
J. A. H. HASBROUCK <fe CO.? PRINTERS, 180 BROADWAY. 



^ 




D 



18G0. 




CONTEISTTS OF ISTo. .3 



PAGE. 

PERSONAL, .- 83 

The incompetency of tlie present administration to acliieve success in our 

relations with Mexico, 83 

The circumstances under which a desirable treaty with Mexico was finally ^ 

negotiated, .----.----87 

THE McLANE— O'CAMPO TREATY, * - 90 

EXTRACTS from N. Y. Tribune, ... - 96 

The destructiA^e nature of our national politics, as manifested in the 

rejection of the Mexican Treaty, ...... 102 

MITLA LETTER, 105 

From Vera Cruz to Jalapa, ........ 106 

From Jalapa to Perote, ......... 108 

From Perote to Puebla, - -- - - - - - - 110 

Encounter with Robbers, ......... HI 

The City of Puebla, ....--.--- 116 

From Puebla to Mexico, .......-- 118 

PUBLIC OPINION ON MEXICO, 119 

Extracts from the Atlantic Monthly Magazine, 119 

Extracts from Speech of Hon. Frank Blair, 122 

Extract from correspondence Fhil. North American, - - - - 123 

EDITORIAL REMARKS, 123 



83 



PERSONAL. 

The Mexican Treaty which was finally laid before the 
Senate of the United States for ratification, has become suffi- 
ciently famous to render such of its history as can be given, 
interesting. 

The circumstances under which this treaty was negotiated, 
and the developments it provoked in the United States before 
it was finally cast aside in the Senate, form a curious, remark- 
able, and interesting chapter in our political history. 

The principal points in this political chapter to which I wish 
to direct the particular attention of my readers, are as fol- 
lows : 

First The incompetency of the present administration to 
achieve success in our relations with Mexico. 

Second. ^ The circumstances under which a desirable treaty 
with Mexico was finally negotiated. 

Tliird. The destructive nature of our national politics, by 
which a treaty of such vital importance as that negotiated 
with Mexico, was rejected in the United States Senate. 

The views I entertain respecting the incompetency of the 
administration, in this matter, were acquired in the most legiti- 
mate manner. In the Spring of 1858, 1 came from Arizona to 
Washington, the authorized bearer of a memorial to Congress 
from the inhabitants residing in that wild Indian country, and 
near the Mexican frontier. I had never visited Washington 
but once before, and that visit occurred in my younger days, 
when a glorious galaxy of intellects shone resplendent in our 
national councils. I was, during this visit, in the gallery of 
the House, when the venerable John Quinoy Adams was 
stricken down by the hand of death, and borne from his seat. 
Passmg along the rear portico of the Capitol shortly after he 
was removed from the hall, I had a view of the "old man 
eloquent," not yet dead, but lying near the window on a sofa, 
placid and calm, in all the solemn and impressive eloquence of 



84 

death. During this visit, I saw Webstee, Clay, Calhoun, 
Ceittende:n", Be]S"toj^ and other statesmen of the times, most 
of whom have gone to regions from whence they can look 
down npon the littleness of worldly politics. The impres- 
sions made upon my mind on this occasion, were never effiiced. 
I formed a most exalted opinion of the statesmen and govern- 
ment of my country, and it was in this exalted frame of mind, 
that after many yeai*s of active life in those distant regions 
covered by the tip end of the western wing of the American 
Eagle, that I came again up to our National Capitol, a little 
proud — yes, I confess to a little pride — in being the bearer of a 
memorial from suffering American citizens, residing in a new 
and uncivilized patch of American territory. I had not been 
long in Washington, however, before my pride received an 
awful shock. I found myself in fact, no where, or in other 
words, entirely out of place. The administration was too 
much occupied in heading off Mr. Douglas, to give frontier 
interest any sort of attention. Congress was wrangling over 
Kansas, and myself and the Arizona memorial, so far as we 
attracted any attention, were absolutely held in derision. I 
was, in one sense, a phenomenon. That I should appear in 
Washington, the representative of the honest and legitimate 
interests of a people, residing in a distant and unorganized 
portion of United States territory, with no political influence, 
and go to head quarters in the expectation of rousing attention 
and obtaining any relief, was attributed to the hopeless ver- 
dancy of a frontiersman. When it was ascertained that I had 
no axe to grind personally, the wonder with which I was re- 
garded increased, and the lobby, especially, poked considerable 
fun at me. 

Hopelessly dull of comprehension and unsophisticated I 
must have been, not to have fully realized, during my sojourn 
of several weeks in Washington, on this occasion, how hope- 
lessly indifferent and ignorant were the powers I found in 
possession of the National Capital, on those momentous fron- 
tier. Pacific, and Mexican interests, with which, from personal 
experience, I had been familiar for many years. I do irot wish 
to be understood as making sweeping or denunciatory remarks 



85 

to tlie effect, that in my intercourse witli public men in Wash- 
ington, or elsewhere, relative to the subject on which the Mexi- 
CA]sr Papees treat, I have met with none who manifest any 
interest or knowledge in these matters. I have met with some 
among our leading public men who are alive to the subject, and 
who have to some extent exerted themselves to give those great 
interests to which reference has been made, that prominence 
in the politics of the country which their importance demands. 
Mr. Douglas is one of these : Senator Toombs is another. Both 
these gentlemen entertain enlarged and enlightened views 
relative to Mexico and our frontier interests generally ; and, 
whenever the oj)portunity offers, they evince the disposition to 
do their country justice in these matters. The Hon. Thomas 
CoEWiE-, of Ohio, is another of our leading public men who is 
alive to the importance of the Mexican question, and I believe 
he deplores most sincerely the action of his party, in the Senate, 
in defeating the Mexican treaty. The Hon. S. S. Cox, of Ohio, 
has, for several years, devoted much attention to Mexican affairs, 
and the relation this country bears thereto. His elaborate 
and very able speech on this subject, delivered in the House 
of Eepresentatives, March 19, 1860, is evidence of this. The 
Hon. JoHw CocHEAWE^ of New York, has recently waked up 
to the importance of the subject. Gov. Batiks, of Massachu- 
setts, is also earnestly studying Mexico and the interest we 
hold in the Spanish- American countries generally. I believe 
that the resignation of the Governor, and his retirement to 
Illinois, are as much due to a feeling of disgust for the politics 
and politicians of his party, as to any other cause. 

On renewing my acquaintance with Washington after an inter- 
val of twelve years, I could not but note, however, the changes 
that had taken place in men and things in that locality during 
this period. Whatever of intellect, statesmanship, and patriot- 
ism there may have been in the National Capital in these latter 
days, those qualities do not appear to have existed in sufficient 
quantity and power to cope with the immense majority, who 
have been laying their jjlans for the presidential campaign, 
and quarrelling over abstractions on the slavery question 
— a question settled in favor of free labor years ago. The 



86 

prevailing parties have had no time, and not the smallest 
amount of brains to spare, for any living interest in the country, 
of whatsoever name or nature, either foreign or domestic. 
What has all this brought us to ? A universal Indian war, 
mingled with murder, want, and discord throughout that 
entire stretch of country from Washington Territory to Ta- 
maulipas ; a near prospect of fearful domestic troubles in the 
older states, and absolute disgrace before the world in our 
foreign policy, even in relation to this continent. 

I foresaw this state of things when in Washington, in the 
spring of 1858, as clearly as I see their existence now ; and I 
then became satisfied that our frontier regions were at the 
mercy of hordes of wild Indians and gangs of white out- 
casts on the one hand, and an inefficient, incompetent admin- 
istration on the other hand ; and between the two evils, 
the chances were ninety-nine out of a hundred that a honafide 
pioneer in those regions would, sooner or later, sacrifice his labor 
and his life. I concluded, therefore, not to return to the frontier 
at present, but continue my business connection with that 
region, and watch from this point the progress of events on 
the frontier, the Pacific coast and Mexico, all of which interests 
are, to a certain extent, identical. It is under these circum- 
stances, and from personal experience with the administration 
and those around it, that I became acquainted with its views, 
purposes, capacities — or rather incapacities — relative to these 
great interests ; and when I met Mr. McLane, e7i route for 
Mexico, I knew perfectly well that he could not have received 
any very clear and definite instructions in Washington, relative 
to his action in that country, except to acquire territory. But 
I soon ascertained that Mr. McLane was an honest, capable 
man — a high order of man, in fact — whose abilities would be 
faithfully exerted for the common interests of his country, 
without regard to partizan or sectional feeling ; and I felt 
a strong assurance that great good would result from his 
mission. 

In the appointment of Mr. McLane as Minister to Mexico, 
the administration deserves credit, and here, perhaps, the 
charge of incomj)etency in one respect ought to cease ; for, 



81 

after appointing a competent minister, tlie administration has 
(from wliat motives I will not stop to inquire,) followed the 
counsels of its appointee, and exerted itself to the utmost to per- 
fect his highly advantageous negotiations. But, unfortunately, 
another point of incompetency, and a fatal one, here comes up. 
It is in the fact that the administration has sunk so low in public 
estimation, that if by chance a wise and honest measure of gen- 
eral and vital importance happens to be brought forward under 
its auspices, an opposition, equally, if not more, ignorant and in- 
competent, can, by an artful perversion of the justly prevailing 
conviction in the public mind that the administration does 
not count wisdom and honesty among its prominent qualifica- 
tions, denounce and defeat any such measure. The adminis- 
tration is thoroughly incompetent for good, therefore, because 
it lacks the most important of all power — moral jyower '^ and 
here we have a complete exemplification of what a stupendous 
evil it is for the vital interests of our great country to get into 
the hands of a low order of thoroughly selfish politicians — 
two distinct political organizations or oligarchies in fact — 
whose sole jpurpose is to acquire power and spoils at the expense 
of the masses. How curious and instructive the analyzing of 
these matters proves ! 

The facts relating to the negotiation of the Mexican treaty 
have nearly all been published. The first treaty, framed in 
Vera Cruz, guaranteed entire freedom of religion throughout 
Mexico, and conceded certain rights of way, with the privilege 
of erecting and maintaining warehouses at the termini of the 
several transit routes ; the right of transporting troops, &c. ; 
free entry and transit of goods belonging to American citizens 
in Arizona, through the ports on the Gulf of California, and 
across Sonora. 

Annexed to these stipulations were guarantees of safety and 
protection on the part of the Mexican Grovernment, and in case 
of the inability of that government to protect them, the United 
States should be at liberty to employ her own armed troops 
in that office. 

In consideration of concessions on the part of Mexico, the 
United States were to pay her $4,000,000, of which $2,000,000 



88 

were to be reserved as indemnity for American citizens hold- 
ins: claims asrainst Mexico. 

In addition to these stipulations, there was an informal 
agreement which comprehended an arrangement for the pro- 
tection of the frontiers, a postal treaty and a commercial treaty, 
which latter contemplated a moderate tariff on American pro- 
ductions. 

This is the outline of the treaty that vibrated between Vera 
Cruz and "Washington for months, on Mr. Buchanan's pertina- 
cious demand for a slice of Mexican territory, with which de- 
mand the Juarez cabinet would not comply. It is understood 
that at first, Mr. BucHAisrAN demanded of the Mexican Gov- 
ernment Lower California, Sonora, Chihuahua, and a part of 
Coahuila ; but on the earnest representations of Mr. McLane 
that the Mexicans would not sell their states and territories, 
Mr. BucHANAisr reduced his demand, and modestly made the 
transfer of the territory of Lower California a sine qua non 
in the treaty negotiations. On being further informed, in the 
most decided manner, that the Mexicans would not sell a foot 
of their territory, Mr. McLane received instructions on the 
16th of August, 1859, to relinquish all demands of that nature, 
and conclude the treaty without the purchase of land. 

But during this period of vibration between Vera Cruz and 
Washington, Senor Fuente had taken the place of Senor 
OcAMPo in the cabinet of Juaeez, as Minister of Foreign Ee- 
lations ; and when Mr. McLane went to conclude negotiations, 
untrammeled by a demand for territory, he found new coun- 
sels prevailing in the Mexican cabinet, and he returned home 
the latter part of August, without anything in the shape of a 
treaty. 

I left Vera Cruz the 12th of June, went up to the City of 
Mexico, completed my business at that point, and returned to 
the United States the middle of August. During my sojourn 
of two months in the City of Mexico, I had most excellent 
opportunities to examine into the condition of this important 
central district, the position of the Church party government, 
its purposes, etc., and of forming an opinion as to the propriety 
of Mr. McLane's course in acknowledging the constitutional 



89 

government at Yera Cruz, and endeavoring to negotiate a 
treaty with that government. If I had any doubts of the 
propriety of the course of our minister, when I left Vera Cruz, 
they were all settled in his favor by that last visit to the City 
of Mexico. I have thus expressed myself to him, personally, 
and his acts command my support through every public and 
private channel to which I have access. 

Mr. McLane was again despatched to Mexico by the admin- 
istration. He left New York in the United States Propeller 
JBrooMyn^ the 10th of November, 1859, and arrived at Yera 
Cruz the 21st of the same month. Senor Ocampo then resumed 
his place in the Juarez Cabinet as Minister of Foreign Kela- 
tions, and negotiations were immediately renewed. The treaty 
previously framed, with the addition of the eighth or commer- 
cial article, and a more distinctly defined agreement relative 
to the protection of the frontiers by the Executives of both 
countries, was signed by the negotiating parties on the 14th 
day of December, 1859. This treaty arrived in Washington 
the latter part of the same month. It was finally negotiated 
by the parties in Yera Cruz, at a critical period, and for the 
best interests of both countries. Instead of receiving any aid 
from the administration at Washington, in his negotiations, 
our minister was retarded for months by a pertinacious de- 
mand for territory, and throughout the entire period of his 
mission, Mr. McLaiste has been obliged to enlighten and in- 
struct his own government, and maintain his position solely 
by his personal tact, efforts, and abilities. 

The foregoing is a statement of my principal reasons for be- 
lieving that the administration is incompetent to achieve suc- 
cess in our relations with Mexico, and of the circumstances 
under which the treaty was negotiated with that country. 

I insert the treaty in this part of the Mexican Papees, as it 
comes in order, and those of my readers, who give it sufficient 
attention, can judge for themselves as to its merits. 



90 



THE McLANE-OCAMPO TREATY. 

A TREATY OF PEACE AND COMMERCE BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES AND THE 
MEXICAN REPUBLIC, NEGOTIATED AT VERA CRUZ, DEC. 14, 1860 

ARTICLE I. 

As an amplification of the eighth article of the treaty of the 30th of De- 
cember, 1853, the Mexican Republic cedes to the United States and its citizens 
and property, in perpetuity, the right of way, by the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, 
from one ocean to the other, by any kind of road now existing, or that may 
hereafter exist, both Republics and their citizens enjoying it. 

ARTICLE II. 

Both Republics agree to protect all routes now existing, or that shall here- 
after exist, over the said Isthmus, and to guarantee the neutrality of the same. 

ARTICLE III. 

Simultaneous with the first bona fide use of any route across the said Isth- 
mus for purposes of actual transit, the Republic of Mexico shall establish 
two ports of deposit — the one on the east, the other on the west of the Isth- 
mus. No duty shall be levied by the Government of Mexico upon foreign 
effects and merchandise which may pass bona fide by the said Isthmus, and 
which may not be intended for the consumption of the Mexican Republic. No 
incumbrance or tolls shall be imposed upon foreign persons and property 
. which may pass by this road beyond those that may be imposed upon the 
persons and property of Mexicans. The Republic of Mexico will continue 
to allow the free and untrammeled transit of the mails of the United States, 
provided they pass in closed mail bags, and they be not for distribution on 
the road. Upon such mails none of the charges imj)osed, nor of those which 
may hereafter be imposed, shall be applied in any case. 

ARTICLE. IV. 

The Mexican Republic agrees that it will establish for each of the two 
ports of deposit — the one on the east, the other on the west of the Isthmus — 
regulations that will permit the effects and merchandise belonging to citizens 
or subjects of the United States or of any foreign country to be entered and 
stored in warehouses, which shall be erected for that purpose, free of all ton- 
nage or other duties whatever, except the necessary charges for cartage and 
storage, which said effects and merchandise may be subsequently withdrawn 
for transit across the said Isthmus, and for shipment from either of the said 
ports of deposit to any foreign port, free of all tonnage or other duties what- 
ever ; and they may likewise be withdrawn from the said warehouse for sale 
and consumption, within the territory of the ^lexican Republic, on the pay- 
ments of such duties or imposts as the said Mexican Government may be 
pleased to enact. 



91 



ARTICLE V. 

The Republic of Mexico agrees that should it become necessary at any 
time to employ military forces for the security and protection of persons and 
property passing over any of the routes aforesaid, it will employ the requisite 
force for that purpose ; but upon failure to do this, from any cause whatever, 
the Government of the United States may, with the consent, or at the request 
of the Government of Mexico, or of the Minister thereof at Washington, or 
of the competent legally appointed local authorities, civil or military, employ 
such force for this and for no other purpose ; and when, in the opinion of the 
Government of Mexico, the necessity ceases, such force shall be immediately 
withdrawn. 

In the exceptional case, however, of unforeseen or imminent danger to the 
lives or property of citizens of the United States, the forces of said Republic 
are authorized to act for their protection without such consent having been 
pr.eviously obtained ; and such forces shall be withdrawn when the necessity 
for this employment ceases. 

ARTICLE VI. 

The Mexican Republic grants to the United States the simple transit of its 
troops, military stores and munitions of war by the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, 
and by the transit or route of communication referred to in this Convention 
from the city of Guaymas, on the Gulf of California, to the Rancho de Nogales, 
or some suitable point on the boundary line between the Republic of Mexico 
and the United States near the one hundred and eleventh degree west longi- 
tude from Greenwich, immediate notice thereof being given to the local authori- 
ties of the Republic of Mexico. And the two Republics agree, likewise, that 
it shall be an express stipulation with the companies or enterprises to whom 
hereafter the carriage or transportation is granted, by any railroads or other 
means of communication, on the aforesaid transits, that the price for convey- 
ing the troops, military stores, and munitions of war of the two Republics 
shall be, at most, one-half the ordinary fare paid by the passengers or mer- 
chandise which may pass over the said transits ; it being understood that if 
the grantees of privileges already granted, or which hereafter may be granted, 
upon railroads or other means of conveyance over said transits, refuse to re- 
ceive for one-half the price of conveyance the troops, arms, military stores, 
and munitions of the United States, the latter government will not impart to 
them the protection spoken of in articles second and fifth, nor any other pro- 
tection. 

ARTICLE VII. 

The Mexican Republic hereby cedes to the United States in perpetuity, and 
to their citizens and property, the right of way or transit across the territory 
of the Republic of Mexico, from the cities of Camargo and Matamoras, or any 
suitable point on the Rio Grande, in the State of Tamaulipas, via Monterey, 
to the port of Mazatlan, at the entrance of the Gulf of California, in the State 
of Sinaloa, and from the Rancho de Nogales, or any suitable point on the 
boundary line between the Republic of Mexico and the United States, near 



92 

the one hundred and eleventh degree west longitude from Greenwich, via 
Magdalena and Ilermocillo, to the City of Guaymas, on the Gulf of California, 
in the State of Sonora, over any railroad or route of communication, natural 
or artificial, which may now or hereafter exist, or be constructed, to be used 
and enjoyed in the same manner and upon equal terms by both Republics, and 
their respective citizens, the Me-xican Republic, reserving always for itself the 
right of sovereignty which it now has upon all the transits spoken of in the 
present Treaty. All the stipulations and regulations of every kind applicable 
to the right of way or transit across the Isthmus of Tchuantepec, that are or 
have been agreed upon between the two Republics, are hereby extended, and 
applied to the foregoing transits 'or rights of way, excepting the right of pass- 
ing troops, military stores, and munitions of war, from the Rio Grande to the 
Gulf of California. 

ARTICLE VIII. 

The two Republics likewise agree that, from the list of merchandise here 
annexed, the Congress of the United States shall select those which, being the 
natural, industrial, or manufactured product of either of the two Republics, 
may be admitted for sale and consumption in either of the two countries, un- 
der conditions of a perfect reciprocity, whether they be considered free of 
dutv, oi' at a rate of duty to be fixed by the Congress of the United States ; it 
being the intention of the Mexican Republic to admit the articles in question 
at the lovrest rate of duty, and even free, if the Congress of the United States 
consents thereto. Their introduction from one to the other Republic shall be 
made at the points which the g6vei-nmcnts of both Republics may fix upon, at 
the limits or boundaries thereof ceded and granted for the transits, and in per- 
petuity, by this Convention, either across the Isthmus of Tchuantepec or from 
the Gulf of California, to the interior frontier between Mexico and the United 
States. If any similar privileges should be granted by Mexico to other na- 
tions at the termini of the aforesaid transits upon the Gulfs of Mexico and 
California, and upon the Pacific Ocean, it shall be in consideration of the same 
conditions and stipulations of reciprocity which are imposed upon the United 
States by the terms of this Convention. 

LIST OF MERCHANDISE ANNEXED TO ARTICLE VIII. 

Animals of all kinds. Drawings and models of large ma- 
Plows and loose iron bars. chinery, buildings, monuments, and 
Rice. boats. 

Poultry and fresh eggs. Boats of all sizes and classes, for 

Quicksilver. the navigation of the rivers on the 

Stone coal. frontier. 

Fresh, salted, and smoked meats. Brooms, and material for their 

Wood and iron houses. manufiicture. 

Raw hides. Bridle bits. 

Horns. Fresh, dried, and sugared fruits. 

Chile or red pepper. Type, spaces, plates for printing 



93 

or engraying, rules, vignettes, and Slates for roofing purposes, 

printing ink. Common salt. 

Printed books of all classes bound . Riding-saddles. 

in paper (pamphlet bound). Palm-leaf hats. 

Hops. Plaster of Paris (gypsnm). 

Timber, unwrought, and firewood. Vegetables. 

Butter and cheese. Undressed sheepskins. 

Geographical and nautical maps Grain of all kinds, and from which 

aiid' topographical plans. bread is made. 

Marble, wrought and unwrought. Tlour. 

Machines, and implements for ag- Wool, 

rioulture, farming, mining, for the de- Lard, 

velopment of the arts and sciences. Tallow. 

and their fixtures, either loose or for Leather, and manufactures of 

their repair, leather. 

Dyewood. ' Every species of textile or woven 

Fish, tar, turpentine, and ashes. fabric of cotton, excepting that called 

Plants, trees, and shrubbei-y, brown sheeting {mantatriguena.) 

ARTICLE IX. 

As an amplification of the fourteenth and fifteenth Articles of the Treaty of 
the fifth of April, one thousand eight hundred and thirty-one, in which that 
which relates to the exercise of their religion by the citizens of Mexico was 
stipulated, the citizens of the United States will be permitted to exercise freely 
in Mexico their religion, either in public or in private, within their houses, or 
in the churches and places which may be assigned to worship, as a consequence 
of the perfect equality and reciprocity which the second Article of the same 
Treaty states was taken for its basis. The chapels or places for public wor- 
ship may be purchased, and shall be held as the property of those who may 
purchase them, as any other common property is purchased or held, excepting 
therefrom, however, the religious communities and corporations to whom the 
present laws of Mexico have prohibited entirely and forever and a day the 
obtaining and holding any thing whatever in propriety. In no case shall citi- 
zens of the United States residing in Mexico be subject to have forced loans 
levied upon them. 

ARTICLE X. 

In consideration of the foregoing stipulations, and in compensation for the 
revenue surrendered by Mexico on the goods and merchandise transported 
free of duty through the territory of that republic, the government of the 
United States agrees to pay to the government of Mexico the sum of 
14,000,000, of which two millions shall be paid immediately upon the ex- 
change of the ratifications of this Treaty, and the remaining two millions shall 
be retained by the government of the United States for the payment of the 
claims of citizens of the United States against the government of the Republic 
of Mexico, for injuries already inflicted, and which may be proven to be just, 



94 

according to the law and usage of nations and the principles of equity ; and 
the same shall be paid p7-o rata, as far as the said sum of two millions will 
permit, in pursuance of a law to be enacted by the Congress of the United 
States for the adjudication thereof, and the remainder of this sum shall be re- 
turned to Mexico by the United States, in case there be any such remainder 
after the payment of the claims thus found to be just. 

ARTICLE XI. 

This Treaty shall be ratified by the President of the United States, by and 
with the advice and consent of the Senate of the United States, and by the 
President of Mexico, in virtue of his extraordinary and actual executive func- 
tions, and the respective ratifications shall be exchanged at the city of Wash- 
ington, within the exact period of six months from the date of its signature, 
or sooner if possible, or at the seat of the Constitutional Government, if any 
alterations or amendments be proposed by the President and Senate of the 
United States, and accepted hff the President of the Eepublic of Mexico. 



CONVENTIONAL ARTICLES BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND THE 
REPUBLIC OF MEXICO TO ENFORCE TREATY STIPULATIONS, MAINTAIN OR- 
DER, ETC. 

Whereas, In consequence of the existing civil war in Mexico, and particu- 
larly in view of the disturbed condition of the inland frontier of Mexico and 
the United States, occasions may arise when the forces of the two Republics 
may find it> necessary to act in concert and co-operation to enforce treaty 
stipulations, and to maintain order and security in the territory of either Re- 
public : wherefore, the following Convention has been agreed upon : 

ARTICLE I. 

[f any of the stipulations of existing treaties between Mexico and the United 
States are violated, or the safety and security of the citizens of either Republic 
are endangered within the territory of the other, and the legitimate and ac- 
knowledged government thereof may be unable, from any cause, to enforce 
such stipulations, or to provide for such safety and security, it shall be ob- 
ligatory on that government to seek the aid of the other in maintaining their 
due execution, as well as order and security in the territory of that Republic 
where such violation and discord occur ; and in evei'y such special case the 
expenses shall be paid by the treasury of the nation within whose territory 
such intervention may become necessary ; and if disorder shall occur on the 
frontier of the two Republics, the authorities of the two Republics nearest to 
the place where the disorder exists shall act in concert and co-operation for 
the arrest and punishment of the criminals who have disturbed the public 
order and security of either Republic ; and for this purpose the parties guilty 
of these oflTences may be arrested within either Republic and delivered over 
to the authorities of that Republic within which the crime may have been 
committed : the nature and character of such intervention, as well as the ex- 



95 

pense thereof, and the manner of arresting and subjecting to punishment the 
said criminals, shall be determined and regulated by an agreement between 
the executive branches of the two governments. 

AKTICLE II. 

This Convention shall be ratified by the President of the United States, by 
and with the advice and consent of the Senate of the United States, and by 
the President of Mexico, in virtue of his extraordinary and actual executive 
functions, and the respective ratifications shall be exchanged at the city of 
Washington within the exact period of six months from the date of its signa- 
ture, or sooner if possible, or at the seat of the Constitutional Government, if 
any alterations or amendments be proposed by the President and Senate of 
the United States, and accepted by the President of the Republic of Mexico. 



Q. T j Robert M. McLane, 
*= ' I Melchoir Ocampo. 



The developments provoked in tlie politics of the United 
States by the foregoing Treaty, constitute the most remarkable 
and instructive portion of the political history I have under- 
taken to write. Up to the time this Treaty appeared in 
Washington, what little public feeling was manifested on the 
subject through the press appeared to favor the liberals of 
Mexico and their cause. After the arrival of the Treaty, the 
subject was generally mentioned by the public journals, but, 
owing to the prevailing apathy and ignorance relative to 
Mexican affairs, the Treaty elicited no particular comment, ex- 
cept among the leading journals in the larger cities of the 
Union. The prominent Eepubhcan journals, such as noticed 
the Treaty discursively, were the first and most bitter denun- 
ciators of the Mexican liberals and the Treaty negotiated with 
the constitutional government of Mexico. This is the most 
curious anomaly in the whole matter, and one to which I par- 
ticularly desire to direct public attention ; for in its solution, 
there is much to be learned relative to the destructive tenden- 
cies of one section of our national politics. 

The following extracts afford a fair example of the sense, 
sentiment, and style of a certain class of public journals that 
opposed the Treaty, and denounced all connected with and in- 
terested therein. 



96 



From the Keiv Tork Tribune, Feb. 27, 18G0. 

" The whole country should understand the question in all its bearings 
before the government commits itself to the proposed radical change in our 
relations with tliat huge, rotten mass of slunk civilization. Whether the con- 
sequences in store for us under the proposed new adjustment of our inter- 
national relations with that country shall be the annexation of its compai'atlvely 
unpeopled provinces, flailing to us in disintegrated masses, as fast as we may 
be able to spread slavery over them, or whether they shall come in the shape 
of a ready absorption of its area that is already covered by a priest-ridden, 
mongrel, ignorant, dwarfed, and semi-savage population, is alike unimportant 
to us, in a national point of view. Either arrangement would be alike mis- 
chievous, and pregnant with evil consequences. 

" If we are to take INIexico at all, either the part that has population, or the 
portion that has not, let us come at the subject distinctly and undcrstandingly. 
Let us know exactly what we are about. We ought not to pursue covert 
modes to attain the object. We do not want to do either, by the authority 
of a questionable treaty exacted from the necessities of one of the peripatetic, 
robbing factions that alternately rise and disappear annually in Mexico. A 
treaty, too, that can be made to mean either muph or little, just to suit the 
convenience of the Executive branch of this Government. A treaty by which 
we can either take or let it alone, according to the demands of the Slavery- 
spreading and Disunion element of our Federal politics. A treaty which is a ' 
first-rate specimen of an ' entangling alliance,' and which is intended to plunge 
our relations with Mexico into a maze of diplomacy, where they can be . 
manipulated just to serve the ends of this same political joint-stock company. 
Let us have every thing that concerns a matter of such vital importance open 
and above-board. It is an exceedingly difficult subject to treat, any way. Let us 
strip it of all anibiguities and uncertainties. We do not want to get into any 
"Mexican quagmires, or Dismal Swanaps. If we are after Sonora, let us say 
Sonora. If it be other provinces, let us name them. If it be all Mexico, let 
us say so. Let the people understand exactly what the Government aims at. 
We protest against doing things by stealth or under false pretences. As 
things now stand, the Free States must fight for their share of new territo- 
rial acquisitions. We demand that they shall know \Vhen any thing of this 
sort is going on, in order that they may, as Mr. Calhoun used to claim for 
slavery in California, ' have a chance to get in,' If we are going to take 
Mexico, or any part of it, the people of the North want a chance to get in. 
* * * «- * * * * 

"How the members of the Senate stand in regard to it is not definitely 
kno^^^l. The main body of the Republican senators are against it, perhaps all." 

Tribune, March 3, 18G0. 
" If a new treaty, of straightforward stipulations, giving us unincumbered 
commercial advantages, and clear grants of land, could be made, we might 
well hold a complacent attitude in view of its ratification, provided we first 



9^7 

had a Homestead bilL The slavery extension party should be met by going 
ahead rather than by holding back. Let us have the vacant territory south of 
us, and fill it with colonists, and thus overslaugh slavery therein. Mexico is 
falling to pieces, and we shall soon have an opportunity to obtain the frag- 
ments we need on our own terms. 

* * * * * * * * 

" If we could run a tier of free states straight across the continent, on the 
southern line of Texas, we should let in an amazing flood of light on the sla- 
very question by the process. Such a cordon could not be jumped by slavery, 
and Lower Mexico might fester and putrify at leisure, with comparatively 
small danger of spreading her contamination upon us. As things now stand, 
and they would be even worse under this hybrid treaty, we have no security 
against a peon slavery being established and gradually ligatured on to our 
southern extremity, to be followed by a weltering process, making our south- 
ern limits more vague than the tail of Milton's Satan." 

The foregoing extracts may be called vagaries, but tliere is 
nothing vague in the meaning of these vagaries. There may 
be something vague relative to the " tail of Milton's Satan," 
but there certainly is nothing vague as to the infernal attri- 
hutes of Milton's Satan, and, according to my conception of 
these, the sentiment running through the quoted extracts from 
the Trihune^ was suggested by his Satanic majesty. And then 
we have the old story, or mistaken public opinion, on Mexico 
over again, though the style may be extreme : " huge, rotten 
mass of slunk civilization ;" " a priest-ridden, mongrel, ignorant, 
dwarfed, and semi-savage population." " A tier of free states, 
straight across the continent, on the line of Texas," evidently, 
according to the plan of the Tribune^ means Kansas^ " straight 
across the continent, on the southern line of Texas," and the 
Kansas harder warfare^ throughout that line of country, over 
again. 

There are some noteworthy exceptions to the general course 
pursued by the Kepublican journals relative to Mexico and the 
Mexican treaty. Among these, I have noticed the Neiu Yorh 
Courier and Enquirer^ the Cincinnati Gazette^ and the Chicago 
Fress and Tribune. The New Yorlc Times., Herald and Ex- 
press have earnestly advocated the Mexican treaty. Also, the 
Boston Courier and Boston Post ; and I believe the New 
Orleans journals, generally, have favored the course of Mr. 
McLane in Mexico. But the treaty was seized upon by the 



98 

leaders of the Republican party in the north, and their coadju- 
tors the disunionists of the south, and the destructive politics 
of these parties had accomplished their work on the Mexican 
treaty before it came up, even, in the Senate of the United 
States. 

The Mexican treaty first came up in executive session of the 
Senate, Feb. 28, 1860, and, though it was a secret session, I 
find the following report of its proceedings in the Tribune of 
Feb. 29th: 

" After disposing of the morning business, the Senate went into executive 
session upon the Mexican treaty, and consumed two hours in discussion. Mr. 
Mason opened, saying he had brought himself with some reluctance to oppose 
this project, because it seemed at first blush to favor a departure from the 
settled policy of the government, which he would never consent to sanction. 
But in view of the state of anarchy which existed in Mexico, he was willing 
to make the experiment. In regard to the objection urged, that Juarez does 
not represent the regular government, he supposed he was as much entitled 
to that recognition as the other faction ; and though now exercising authority 
over a small district of country, he believed, though unable to give any posi- 
tive assurance to the Senate, that the ratification, with the aid which we would 
render, would establish the liberal cause in power. 

" Mr. "WiGFALL, in an able and eifective speech, denounced the whole scheme 
as utterly unworthy of countenance or toleration. There was no government 
in Mexico capable of making a treaty, or of carrying out its stipulations if 
made. We did not want Mexico or her mongrel population. Juarez and 
his Indian crew could not govern themselves, and if brought into contact with 
our people would contaminate them. 

" Mr. PuGH objected to some of the commercial provisions as favoring 
certain interests over others, but was willing to take the treaty if amended in 
those particulars. 

" Mr. Simmons closed the discussion in one of his strong, conclusive, practical 
arguments, exposing the sophistries of the alleged commercial advantages. 
New England had no interest, immediate or remote, in this treaty, but exactly 
the reverse. It is substantially reciprocal free trade with Mexico, which 
would require us, under the clause inserted in every commercial treaty for the 
last forty years, of admitting each nation to an equal footing with that of the 
most favored nation, to claim similar privileges, and would result in destroy- 
ing our revenue and compelling a resort to direct taxation. 

" Tliis point, and others equally forcible, produced much impression. 

" Mr. Hammond obtained the floor, and would have proceeded but for the 
announcement of Mr. Spinks' death. 

" The subject is postponed till Thursday, Mr. Seward having the floor for 
to-morrow. The treaty is dead as Julius Csesar. The developments of to-day 



99 

"vvill probably bring several Democratic opponents into life, who yielded to 
the pei'suasions of the President, and were prepared to conquer prejudices. 
Messrs. Hammond, Chesnut, Andrew Johnson and others, may be counted 
adversely." 

According to the foregoing report, we find tliat the " able 
and effective speech" of Mr. Wigfall, (after the Tribune style, 
" mongrel population ;" Jijaf.ez and his Indian crew ;" " con- 
taminate," &c.,) with one of Mr. Simmoists' strong, conclusive, 
and practical arguments did, in reality, kill the Mexican treaty, 
" dead as Julius Caesar." 

Washington Correspondent of the JVetv York Tribune, March 5, 1860. 
" The Mexican treaty is not delayed before the Senate on account of any 
documents or information to be furnished by the State Department, but be- 
cause the opposition of Mr. Wigfall, and the approval of his sentiments by 
Mr. Hammomd, rendered the defeat of the ratification inevitable, without some 
fortunate intervention. At least six Democrats, and pei'haps more, declare 
they will not support the treaty, and Mr. Bright is among the number." 

The Mexican treaty again came up in executive session 
of the Senate, May 31st, and though this was a secret ses- 
sion, the following report of its proceedings, by far the most 
complete and full I have seen, is found in the Trihu7ie^ which 
appears to have been the special organ of the treaty-killing 
party. 

Washington Correspondent of the New Yorh Tribune, June 1, 1860. 

THE MEXICAN TREATY. 

" When I announced two months ago that the Mexican treaty was dead and 
could not be resuscitated, it was impudently denied by newsmongers here, 
who then affected superior knowledge, and who since that time have been con- 
stantly promising a ratification without the least knowledge of the state of 
opinion in the Senate. The result to-day proves their ignorance. The treaty 
was called up at half-past one in a brief speech by Mr. Mason, urging the ne- 
cessity of immediate action, in order that the Executive might know what 
policy to pursue. He was followed in an ingenious and well-considered argu- 
ment by Mr. Simmons in favor of the treaty, upon what he regarded as com- 
mercial considerations. 

"Mr. Hamnond took a broad and statesmanlike view of the subject, contend- 
ing that the ultimate acquisition of Mexico, which tlie treaty was intended to 
initiate, would be the forbidden fruit which Mr. Ca.lhoun had described when 
speaking of Cuba ; and while it might tend to the dissolution of the Union, he 



100 

could not sec how the South was to be benefited by the addition of that mon- 
grel population. Hence he was opposed to it. 

" Mr. Seward was not willing to commit the Government to an important 
treaty Avith a foction, which might be immediately deposed by another that 
would repudiate the action of its predecessor, and be compelled either to sur- 
render what had been acquired, or probably to resort to war for its enforce- 
ment. 

" After further remarks by Mr. Benjamin and others, Mr. Simmons called 
for a division of the following amendments : Insert the eighth and tenth articles 
from treaty in their proper places to suit the following : Article eighth, strike 
oat the word ' agree' in line one, and insert the following : 

" Likewise agree that the articles of merchandise herein enumerated, such 
as are the natural, industrial, or manufactured products of the Eepublic of 
Mexico, be admitted for sale and consumption into the United States of America 
free from duty or customs charges, as such in any form ; that is to say, animals 
of all kinds, agave fiber, dressed or undressed, or made into rope, bags, or ham- 
mocks ; ashes, boats of all sizes and classes for the navigation of the rivers of 
the frontier, cocoa shells, cocoa leaves, and cocoa nuts ; coffee, cotton, cochineal, 
drawings and models of large machinery, buildings, monuments and boats ; 
dye-woods of all kinds and extracts therefrom ; fresh fruits ; fresh, salted and 
smoked meats ; flour, fish ; grain of all kinds, and from which bread may be 
made ; geographical and nautical maps, and topographical plans ; horns and 
horn tips ; indigo, jalap, lard ; mahogany, and other woods useful in the 
manufixcture of furniture ; marble, wrought or unwrought ; machines and im- 
plements for the development of the arts and sciences, and their fixtures, 
either loose or for their repair ; poultry and fresh eggs, plants, trees and 
shrubbery, plaster of Paris, (gypsum.) palm-leaf hats, pepper, either red or 
black, quicksilver, rice, raw hides, sarsaparilla, slates for roofing purposes, 
tar, tallow, timber, unwrought and firewood, tobacco, turpentine, type, spaces, 
plates for printing or engraving, rules, vignettes and printing ink, undressed 
sheepskins, vanilla, wool, the value when exported shall not exceed — cents 
per pound. 

" And the two Republics likewise agree, that the articles of merchandise 
herein enumerated, being such as are the natural, industrial, manufactured 
product of the United States of America, which shall be admitted for sale and 
consumption into the Republic of IMcxico, free from duty or customs charges, 
as such in any form, that is to say : Animals of all kinds, ashes, boats of all 
sizes and classes for the navigation of the rivers of the frontier, brooms and 
material for their manufacture, butter and cheese, drawings and models of 
large machinery, buildings, monuments and boats, every species of textile or 
woven fabric of cotton, excepting that called brown sheeting, ' Mantatrigue- 
na,' fresh fruits, fresh, salted and smoked fish, grain of all kinds and from 
which bread is made ; geographical, nautical maps and topographical plans ; 
lard, leather, and all mnnufaotnrcs of h ;:t!u'r : machinery of all kinds, and 
implements for agricultural, fanning, mining, for the development of the arts 



101 

and sciences, and their fixtures, either loose or for their repair ; marble, wrought 
or unwrought ; palm-leaf hats, plants, trees and shrubbery, plows and iron in 
pigs and bars loose, poultry and fresh eggs, printed books of all classes bound 
in paper, pamphlets bound, plaster of Paris, gypsum, quicksilver, rice, slates 
for roofing purposes, stone coal of all sizes, tar and turpentine, tallow, timber, 
unwrought and firewood, tobacco, type, spaces, plates for printing and engraving, 
rules, vignettes, and printing ink, wood and iron houses. 

" If any similar privilege shall be granted by Mexico at the termini of the 
aforesaid transits upon the Pacific Ocean, or at any other ports of entry of 
the Republic of Mexico, such grants or privileges shall be made upon the same 
or similar conditions of reciprocal benefits with those herein stipulated be- 
tween the United States and Mexico, and shall not be granted without the 
payment of a proportionate amount of money in advance, in each case, as an 
equivalent and compensation for the revenue surrendered by Mexico in relin- 
quishing the specific or other duties imposed upon others, upon the introduc- 
tion of the articles herein enumerated into that Republic. The amounts to be 
paid in money by such other nation, shall bear the same proportion to the 
amount of its trade with Mexico in the articles of merchandize herein enume- 
rated, as the sum of $4,000,000 bears to the amount of the trade from the 
United States to the Republic of Mexico in the same articles of merchandize,' 
and shall be computed and apportioned in .each case upon the amount of the 
actual trade of such other nation to Mexico, in said articles of merchandise, 
for the five years next preceding the time of the ratification of the present 
treaty, and all such commercial privileges shall terminate simultaneously with 
those herein granted. 

" Article X. — Strike out after the word ' stipulations,' line two, and insert 
the following in lieu thereof: And as an equivalent and compensation for the 
revenue surrendered by Mexico, upon the merchandize from the United States 
to be entered for consumption in, or to be transported through the territory of 
Mexico, free of duty, the sum of 14,000,000, of which 12,000,000 shall be 
paid to Mexico immediately upon the exchange of the ratification of this treaty, 
and the remaining $2,000,000 shall be retained by the Government of the 
United States for the payment of the claims of citizens of the United States 
against the Government of Mexico for injuries already inflicted, and which may 
be proved to be just, according to the law and usage of nations, and the prin- 
ciples of equity. And after the claims shall be ascertained, and a list of .the 
names of the claimants is reported to Congress, with the amount due to each 
respectively, in pursuance of a law to be enacted by the Congress of the United 
States for the adjudication thereof, the said $2,000,000 shall be appropriated 
by Congress for the payment of said claim in full, if the sum retained is sut- 
ficient, and pro rata if insufficient, to pay the whole, and the remainder of the 
$2,000,000 shall be paid to Mexico by the United States in case there is any 
remainder after the payment of the claiaas thus proved to be just. 

" The stipulations contained in the Eighth Article of the present Treaty are 
to continue for ten years and thereafter, until one or the other of the said Re- 
publics shall have given one year's previous notice that they desire to termi- 



102 

nate the same. And these and all other stipulations shall take eflect when the 
82,000,000 agreed to be paid to ]\Iexico shall be paid, and the necessary laws 
to carry the same into effect shall be passed by the Congress of the United 
States. 

" These amendments were rejected by 20 to 26, Republicans voting with 
them to oblige Mr. Simmons, and Democrats adversely. 

" Mr. Wigfall then moved an amendment providing for the reclamation of 
fugitives from service or labor, which received a majority, but could not be 
inserted for want of two thirds. 

" Finally, a division was called on the naked treaty, which was defeated, 18 
to 27. Messrs. Simmons and Anthony alone of the Republicans voted in the 
affirmative. Messrs. Hammond, Hunter, Chesnut, Iverson, Johnson, and 
Wigfall, of the Democrats, went against it. Douglas was not present, 
though he has been out for several days, and entertained a large party last 
night. Various Senators were paired off. 

" Just as the Senate was about adjourning, Mr. Simmons entered a motion 
to reconsider, which would have been voted down but for the confusion of the 
moment. Thus ends this farce." 



The only objections advanced against the treaty, that can 
be found throughout the whole of the Tribunes report, are 
those of Senators Hammond and Sewaed. Let the reader 
refer to the alleged objections made by those distinguished 
senators, and judge whether Tallyeand was not partly right 
when he made the remark that " language was invented to 
conceal mens' thoughts." 

Senator Wigfall evidently had a masked battery in re- 
serve, when he made the significant motion for an amend- 
ment providing for the reclamation of "fugitives from ser- 
vice," etc. 

The report of this last secret executive session of the 
Senate places Senator Simmojs^s in a position almost the oppo- 
site to that he is reported to have assumed when the Mexican 
treaty was first called up. Whatever may have been the position 
of Senator Sijimons at the outset, there is abundance of evidence 
to prove that ultimately he labored energetically and honest- 
ly to consummate a measure so fraught with vital interest to 
the country at large. It appears that Senator Simmons, with 
his colleague, Senator Anthony, stepped boldly out of the 
ranks of their party, and, of all the Republican senators, they 
alone voted for the ratification of the Mexican treaty. All 



103 

honor, tlien, to tlie Rhode Island senators for this exhibition 
of their wisdom and patriotism ! 

I am again indebted to the Tribune for its report of the last 
dying throe made by the Mexican treaty, in executive session 
of the Senate, on the 2Yth of June, 1860. 

Washington Correspondent of the New York Tribune, June 28th, 1860. 

" The Mexican treaty "was nominally reconsidered, and therefore goes over 
till next session. It required only a majority, and there was no disposition to 
contest the pOint when pressed so earnestly by Mr. Simmons. Messrs. 
Anthony and Wilson voted with him to galvanize the corpse. Juarez will 
probably be in exile before the treaty is again considered, if present signs 
may be trusted." 

The treaty was finally postponed, I am credibly informed, 
on motion of Senator WiLSoisr. How this senator, who had 
certainly manifested considerable favor towards the Mexican 
treaty, and an intelligent appreciation of the imminent import- 
ance of its ratification, should have been the one to finally 
and virtually kill it, " dead as Julius Caesar," is more than I 
can comprehend. 

I have now given an outline of the history of the Mexican 
treaty from the day of its inception to the day of its rejection ; 
and I do not hesitate to assert that the circumstances under 
which this treaty was negotiated, and its final defeat, will be 
referred to ten, twenty, fifty years hence, as one of the most 
remarkable chapters in our political history that can be found 
on record. 

Does any one believe that if the administration had, at an 
early day, marked out an intelligent, decided, and just policy 
with Mexico, a policy, the result of convictions hased on hnoiuTr 
edge^ and enforced this policy with that moral power which 
intelligent and honest convictions always command, — does any 
one believe, I ask, that this treaty, wrought out by an honest 
and capable servant, could not have been carried even against 
the destructive opposition of the Republican and fire-eating 
politicians who united to destroy it ? 

And does any one believe that the Republican party, in 
Washington, evinced, in their action on the Mexican treaty, 



104 

any honest convictions hased on Icnowledge^ relative to the 
Mexican question, or any sentiment liiglier than that of a de- 
termination to acliieve success in their own thoroughly selfish 
political purposes, no matter by what means, or at what 
expense to the country at large ? Otherwise, how could they, 
on such frivolous pretexts, unite with the disunion faction in 
defeating the Mexican treaty, and thus leave the country 
exposed to dire evils, among which may be counted filibuster- 
ing for disunion purposes, and the intervention of European 
Powers on our own borders ? 

After such flagrant trifling with stu23endous interests, as the 
Tribune^ in a self-glorifying spirit, exposes in this matter, I do 
not wonder that its report closes with the remark, " Thus ends 
this farce," 

The JSfew YorTc Journal of Com.merce^ remarking upon the 
Mexicais^ Papees, says : 

" Mi\ Dunbar deems it legitimate, in discussing questions of Mexican 
policy, to arraign, and to praise or condemn, pretty much everybody con- 
nected -with our own government, giving to his " Mexican Papers" a wide 
scope and range, and tending, we fear, to involve him quite as deeply in 
American politics as in the affiiirs of Mexico." 

This criticism of the Journal is just, and to the point, — • 
nothing could be more so. I am an American citizen, born 
and bred, and have the right to vote. I am, according to the 
theory, if not the practice of democratic institutions, one of 
the people — the masters, w^ho send their servants to Washing- 
ton, to attend to their interests. I find those national servants 
in Washington do not attend properly to my interests as a 
private American citizen, engaged in lawful and legitimate 
business. Therefore, I very naturally claim the right to 
" arraign, and to praise and condemn pretty much everybody 
connected with our government," according, as in my opinion, 
they deserve, and investigate the causes that carry individuals 
so notoriously unfit for their position, into power. Not being 
a disappointed or expectant politician, I feel a glorious inde- 
pendence in being able to apply the knife to lyqtli of the great 
political ]3arties, whose politics, as I conceive, are of a destnic- 



105 

tive character to my own lawful and legitimate interests, and 
who have brought the whole country to the condition and po- 
sition so correctly stated by Mr. Sewaed in his recent Detroit 
speech, viz. : universal dissatisfaction at home, and our institu- 
tions a hissing and by-word for all creation abroad. -I may be 
wrong in my independent notions^ and in my views relative to 
the nature of our institutions. 

I certainly aim to give "a wide scope and range" to the 
Mexican Papees. This is the very nature of the subjects of 
which my publication treats, and in discussing questions of 
Mexican policy, I confess to becoming " quite as deeply in- 
volved in American politics as in Mexican affairs." The dis- 
cussion of the Mexican question inevitably involves the discus- 
sion of American politics, and of those vital interests in the 
United States over which the politics of negro politicians have 
been so long allowed to maintain their destructive ascendency. 



MITLA LETTEE. 

EEOM VEEA CEUZ TO JALAPA. 

City of Mexico, July 25, 1860. 

" Having waited some days in the hope of joining a party 
sufficiently strong to cope with the robbers on the road to this 
city, and no such opportunity offering, I concluded to run the 
gauntlet solo and take such chances as might fall to my lot. 
Therefore, on Sunday morning, June 12th, amid sunshine and 
showers — smiles and tears — ^I left the Hotel de las Diligencies^ 
City of Vera Cruz, in a Troy coach with eight passengers 
bound for Jalapa, and just outside the walls, at the railroad 
depot, the vehicle was placed on a car made for the purpose, 
six mules attached tandem^ and in little less than three hours we 
passed over this piece of iron road to San Juan, a distance of 
seven leagues. This is the commencement of the railroad be- 
tween Vera Cruz and the City of Mexico, and here the enter- 
prise is likely to rest for a long time to come. 



106 

"Tlie journey from Vera Cniz to tlie City of Mexico, the 
people, climate, scenery, productions, and every peculiarity of 
the country, have been so often described by travelers, that 
the like attempt, on my part, would simply be a work of su- 
pererogation. I relate my personal experience on the trip, 
therefore, as the means of elucidating the peculiar state of the 
country at the present time, reserving the right to touch upon 
the world-renowned wonders of nature, and give some pretty 
hard facts a lio-ht and fanciful settinc;. 

"Leaving San Juan at 1 p. m., we continued our route 
through the tierre ccdiente^ or hot country, up hill and down, 
on the Jalapa road, yet maintaining a gradual ascent. 

" Stao^ino; has been reduced to a science on the hi2:h roads in 
Mexico. The coaches are good, and the teams, either horses 
or mules, generally four abreast on the lead and two at the 
wheel, are of the best description. The coachman is usually 
an expert^ and if the roads are good they gallop ; if bad, a 
constant lashing and cracking of the whip is maintained, and 
they get along as fast as they can. We soon began to expe- 
rience the ills of a bad road. A great part of the distance 
between Vera Cruz and Jalapa has been paved with large 
cobble stones, or, as they might be called with more propriety, 
hoidders. By reason of these having been torn up in many 
places, and used to obstruct the passage of trooj)S, by reason 
of rains, the cutting up by enormously-loaded wagons and 
from neglect, this road is now in the worst possible condition. 
By this road, however, or one much like it, via Orizaba, you 
must pass from Vera Cruz to the City of Mexico. Over these 
stones we bounced, over steep pitches we plunged, down into 
deep gullies we swayed and reeled, at the rate of six miles per 
hour, until it seemed as if every bone would come out of the 
flesh. But on we went ; passed the Puente National at dusk, 
and had a fine view of this great work of art and its magnifi- 
cent surrounding of scenery. At ten in the evening we 
reached the small town of Plan del Rio^ ate a pretty good 
supper, rested three hours, and then resumed our journey. 
Early in the morning, long before the sun reached the horizon, 
we discovered the noble Peak of Orizaba on the left. From 



107 

our point of view, it presented a perfect pyramidal shape, cov- 
ered with snow, and its base resting on soft, scroll-like clouds, 
delicately tinged with golden hues, while the Peak itself re- 
ceived the full rays of the sun, and towering high above and 
among the clouds, resplendent and glittering in yellow light 
and the glory of the morning, displayed to the imagination of 
us poor mortals the portal of heaven. ' Wonderful country !' 
one ejaculates, mentally, if not audibly. 

"We now experienced a fresh and bracing atmosphere, 
which is not known in the country we left but yesterday, 
though tropical productions continue abundant. The hills 
and mountains are on a grander scale, the lands over-rich and 
covered with foliage of the rarest tints. At 12 m., we reached 
Jalapa, a beautiful town seated on the hills — distance from 
Vera Cruz, eighty miles. Being desirous of seeing something 
of the place, and moreover dreadfully bruised in the flesh, I 
determined to lie over two days for the next diligence. The 
journey of all the passengers, except myself and one other, 
ended here. Among them were two who exhibited a phe- 
nomenon worthy of notice. They were mother and daughter, 
both excessively fat ; small, dimpled hands, and arms like legs 
of mutton, such being frequently met with among the senoras 
of the Republic. During all this rough jaunt, these creatures 
neither burst, chafed, or rode uneasy, but there they sat on 
the back seat like two dumplings in a dish, highly comfortable. 
When a violent motion of the coach caused the gentlemen to 
knock their heads together, or crack their sconces against the 
roof, the ladies would gently roll up their eyes, ejaculate, 
'■Jesus P ''Santissima Maria P or something of that nature, in 
sympathy for the harder bone and muscle of their companions. 
On arriving at Jalapa, they were as chipper, bright, and lively 
as though they had come all the way quietly in a Boston 
rocker. The power of endurance in fat women is truly won- 
derful. 

" The road from Vera Cruz to Jalapa presents many scenes of 
desolation and ruin, on account of the civil war now raging. 
Houses burned or thrown down, fields neglected, haciendas 



108 

and villages almost totally abandoned. Certain districts are, 
in fiict, entirely desolated. 

"In Jalapa we found General Eobles with 1200 men, chnrcli 
forces, holding the town. Also, the conducta of candales or 
specie, sixty wagons containing nearly six millions of dollars, 
en route for Vera Cruz. The yearnings of Robles and his men 
over this train, nearly caused every box of specie to fly open. 

"The beauty of the country about Jalapa and its climate, 
have not been exaggerated. There is no winter here ; but 
spring — eternal spring— blends with summer. Peach, apricot 
and pear grow side by side with the orange, fig and banana. 
Corn, potatoes, and a great variety of vegetables thrive and 
abound. The women of Jalapa deservedly rank among the 
most beautiful and graceful in the republic. The houses that 
line the streets are mostly of one story, and very neat. Each 
house has an ample window, secured by iron or wooden bars. 
Behind these are seen beautiful seiioritas, who, like caged birds 
of paradise, cast longing looks, sometimes soft and sometimes 
bright, upon the world without. 

" The climate is in the highest degree healthy, and I could 
not but think that many of our citizens who are now hurrying 
from their hot piles of brick and mortar to mountain and sea, 
would, some day, search out this remarkable country for re- 
creation and health. 

FROM JALAPA TO PEROTE. 

" On the evening of the second day of my arrival. General 
Robles, having dispatches to forward, ordered the diligence to 
start at 10 o'clock that night, instead of the next morning. 
The rain was pouring in torrents, and the signs foretold a ter- 
rible night to be floundering about in a stage-coach. But Mr. 
S., an Englishman residing in the countr}^, and myself, the only 
passengers for Mexico, concluded to go rather than wait for 
the next stage, two days later. Ten o'clock came and away 
we went, amid terrific thunder and lightning, the heavens one 
sheet of water and torrents coursing down the hilly streets, so 
that the poor, blinded mules could scarcely make their way 
around corners and out of the town. We at last reached the 



109 

higli road, whicli proved to be no better than that on the other 
,side of Jalapa; if any thing, worse. We tumbled along, how- 
ever, after the usual style, upset only once, but luckily being 
near a ranch, plenty of assistance was at hand to right the 
coach. Early in the morning we passed the highest mountain 
summit between Jalapa and Perote. We were in the region 
of pine, fir and dwarf oak. The storm continued, the blast 
was cold and piercing, and it needed but a little snow or sleet 
to make a perfect winter scene. Descending from this, we 
reached Perote at 11 a. m., thirteen hours from Jalapa — dis- 
tance, thirty-three miles. Perote is situated on an elevated 
plain not remarkable for its fertility. The castle of Perote is 
about one mile north of the town. The civil war rages to such 
an extent in this region, that the town is partially abandoned. 
The castle is held by a considerable body of church forces. 
The aspect of this region is bleak and mournful. 

"The Spaniard Cobos, a brutal robber, and one of the 
worst in the country, but now a general in the army of Holy 
Mother Church, was here with six hundred of his men. This 
body had formed part of the specie train escort to Jalapa, and 
had returned to this point, en route, it was supposed, to Oajaca 
on a robbing excursion. 

"We were to resume our journey at 3 o'clock the next morn- 
ing, and having the afternoon to spare, Mr. S. and myself 
walked out to the castle, and when a short distance from the 
entrance, we met a carriage containing two officers. "They 
are the Governor of the Castle and Cobos," said my companion. 
Cobos put his head out to look after us, and came to the con- 
clusion that w^e were dangerous individuals. The carriage 
shortly after met a horseman, and stopped. The horseman 
soon dashed past us into the castle, and as we were about 
making a detour of the walls, a guard, duly armed and equipped, 
came forth and stated that we were wanted in the castle. 
" Trapped in this miserable hole," thought I to myself. Into 
the castle we went, and arriving among a crowd of officers 
and soldiers, one of the former told the guard that they were 
ordered to send us to the town and not bring us to the castle, 
whereupon the officer went to headquarters to learn what 



110 

the orders really were. Matters looked a little squally. 
' "What is to be the upshot of this affiiir V I inquired of S. 

" ' I am afraid we have lost our seats for Puebla to-morrow 
morning,' he replied. 

" The long line of Mier prisoners who were decimated for 
death and served out their horrible servitude here, came up 
before me. Thoughts of the many atrocious imprisonments 
and barbarities for which Perote Castle is renowned, came into 
my mind, ' Perhaps,' thought I, ' they read Mifia in my 
face, and desire to give me an opportunity to take notes inside 
as well as outside.' Many thanks if this kindness was in- 
tended. But the aforesaid officer soon returned, and with a 
polite bow, but sinister expression, informed us we could 
retire to the town. We therefore tore ourselves away from 
the gaze of several hundred soldiers of a diluted order, so far 
as military appearance and action were concerned, and departed. 
But not until 3 o'clock next morning, when roused by the 
gruff voice of the driver, informing me that the coach was 
ready, and I found myself rolling out of the town, did I con- 
sider it a clear case of release from the bloodthirsty Spaniard 
CoBos, or any other robber chief who might be in the place. 

FEOM PEEOTE TO PUEBLA. 

" Leaving Perote, we enter the high road to new adventures 
not of the most agreeable nature. This section of road is much 
better than that we have passed. The country is generally 
level, and in some places quite sandy. But we are in the heart 
of the banditti district. In the tie?'re caliente, between Vera 
Cruz and Jalapa, robberies are not frequent. Coming from 
Jalapa to Perote out of the usual time, w^e encountered no one, 
but now, in the ordinary course of events, we shall meet with 
more or less of the fraternity. 

" Occasionally a strong party, well armed, bids defiance to the 
robbers, and passes through without being robbed; but at the 
present time, as large bands are overrunning the country, and 
robbing in the name of " law and order^'' those who are ob- 
liged to travel prepare to be robbed by leaving their arms, 
taking little or no baggage, a few silver dollars in the pocket 



Ill 

to purcliase some degree of civility, and as little else of value 
about the person as possible. You can deposit a sum of 
money at the diligence office, and receive a circular therefor, 
which is available at any of the stations on the road. With a 
small carpet-bag, containing a few indispensable articles, eight 
dollars in cash, and not clad in my " Sunday hest^'' I was in a 
condition to go through the operation of being robbed. As 
stated, the coach, with Mr. S., myself and a Mexican youth, 
belonging in Puebla, left the place at three a. m. The posts 
are from three to four leagues apart, and twelve miles from 
Perot e we drove up to the first post, which is at the hacienda 
of Claude Simon, one of the most extensive and wealthy ha- 
ciendados of the country. The building extends several hun- 
dred feet along the road, and on our arrival, there were ranged 
against the walls some one hundred and fifty peons, chanting 
the maitines. The darkness of night was still upon the earth. 
A faint streak in the east, beneath heavy, black clouds, alone 
indicated the dawn of day ; and there this dark mass of hu- 
manity stood grouped together, performing the first heathenish 
ceremony of the day — heathenish to them, for all they do is 
in obedience to force and the superstition of uncounted, un- 
known ages. All the harmony of their chant was in those 
sad, wailing, plaintive tones that come from a lost and doomed 
people, in whose souls the light of reason faints and flickers in 
its last struggle for existence. The morning chant of these 
poor, abject beings, but little above the brute, was one of the 
most melancholy treats I ever had the pleasure of experienc- 
ing. But now they have gone to their labor in the field, to 
return with the darkness of night. The obtaining of the most 
labor out of human beings as well as brutes, at the least pos- 
sible cost, has, under the study of ages, been reduced to a 
science in this part of Mexico, held by the Church. 

ElSrCOUlSTTEE WITH EOBBEES. 

"But we are again on the road, and the hacienda of Don 
Claude Simon is scarcely out of sight, ere we are told that 
robbers may be expected. We went on, however, under this 
state of expectation until nearly eleven o'clock, when we ap- 



112 

proaclied ca noted locality called tlie Dos Cerito-s^ or two small 
hills. Here tlie driver gave a low significant whistle as a warn- 
ing to us inside, and we soon discovered seven mounted men 
coming over a rise to the left, and cautiously aj)proacliing the 
coach. The driver pulled up, and his assistant (there are al- 
ways two on the box) got down and stood at the head of the 
team. The robbers having satisfied themselves of our numbers, 
and that we were not armed, came up and commenced opera- 
tions. They were all masked — all w.ore India-rubber ponchos 
or serepas, all were armed with muskets or carbines and com- 
mon horse-pistols, part with flint and part with percussion 
locks. One continued to circle at some distance around the 
coach, reconnoitering, three remained mounted with their mus- 
kets bearing upon us, three dismounted and ordered us to get 
out. We got out and they demanded money. I extracted 
eight dollars from my pockets, which was double the amount 
I had intended to have on hand for the occasion. As the 
scoundrels grabbed the cash, I asked them to leave a dollar to 
pay for breakfast. One of them signified that he would. 
They then fumbled all over our persons, rammed their hands 
into our pockets, <fec., in search of concealed valuables. While 
undergoing this ojDeration, my curiosity was such that I could 
not forbear breaking over one of the laws of the institution, 
and indulge my eyes with a good look at the robbers. The 
captain, who was on a beautiful white horse, discovered this, 
and bringing his carbine to bear full in my face, ordered me 
to lower my eyes. They obtained a few dollars from Mr. S., 
but nothing from the Mexican youth. The personal examina- 
tion being over, their attention was turned to the coach. One 
of them, taking out my car2:)et bag, signified that he wished it 
opened. I gave him the key, he opened the bag, searched it 
thoroughly, but took nothing of its contents, locked it and 
handed me the key with some degree of politeness. Turning 
round, I discovered my companions a short distance from the 
coach, lying flat on the ground, face downwards. This is the 
position in which the robbers place travelers while they are 
searching the coach, baggage, <fec. Sometimes the feet of 
passengers are tied together. Knowing that I would not be 



113 

allowed to witness the conclusion of tlie performance, wMcli 
was that of searching the coach, &c., I went out by my com- 
panions, and sat down with my back to the performers, re- 
solved not to place myself in a more humiliating position until 
forced into it. The robbers ransacked a trunk belonging to 
Mr. S., took therefrom pantaloons, coat, and a few other arti- • 
cles, slammed down the top, threw the trunk back on the bag- 
gage rack, and buckled down the boot. They then searched 
the coach, running their hands into holes between the linings 
and into the cushions; examining the curtains beneath the 
seats, &c., &c. By a sly look now and then, I saw nearly the 
whole performance. That search being over, they came to us 
and pulled off our boots, and to my astonishment, this little 
operation paid them better than all else. In the lining of the 
Mexican's boot they found two gold ounces, ($32.) Having 
completed their search, the scoundrels mounted, all formed a 
line, and signified to us to enter the coach and be off. Soon 
as we were under way, I put my head out to take a parting 
look. ' They will fire at you, if you look after them,' ex-^ 
claimed the Mexican. Nevertheless, I saw that they watched 
us in a body, until we were out of sight. 

" This was being robbed in Mexico after the usual and most 
approved fashion. I have seen numerous stories of fights with 
robbers, but no very full account of a genteel operation, such 
as I have recounted, has come to my notice. 

" This band of robbers, so far as I could discover, was com- 
posed of the common greasers of the country. They were 
quite taciturn, and what little they did say was in an under- 
tone. They were in great haste, and the rascal who searched 
my person manifested so much tremor that I was inclined to 
tell him he should not be harmed. The affair came off in an 
open, slightly rolling country, with three haciendas in sight. 
Probably the owner of one of these haciendas was captain of 
the robbers. It appears that my experience in this affair was 
rather of a mild order. Sometimes the robbers, if they think 
they will be resisted, and desire to frighten passengers, open 
with a general fire upon the coach. Again, in their haste and 
tremor, they sometimes accidentally w^ound or kill, and they 



114 

beat or otherwise maltreat travelers, according to tlie whim 
they may entertain at the time. Women are sometimes 
stripped nearly naked and otherwise badly used. 

"Two months since, Mr. Barron of this city, an American 
named Taylor, also living here, and a Scotchman, came from 
Vera Cruz prepared to resist the robbers. Shortly after leav- 
ing Perote, they encountered a band, and during the skirmish, 
Taylor shot two of the ladrones dead ; and from this time the 
diligence was ambushed and attacked at intervals by con- 
stantly-increasing numbers, until, within some fifteen miles of 
Puebla, the ammunition of the passengers gave out, and they 
barely escaped with their lives to the belfry of a small church 
near by, where they kept a large number of robbers at bay 
with a few remaining shots. News of the situation of these 
passengers was carried to Puebla, and a body of troops started 
out to relieve them. They arrived in the night, and dashing 
in among the robbers, opened fire. The freebooters, mistaking 
the government troops for an accession of their own forces, 
cried out: " What do you fire uj)on us for? toe are rolMrs tooT 
A hard truth came out here in the dark. One joarty murders 
and robs on an extensive scale in the name of the church, and 
law and order ; the other is composed of petty outsiders, who 
do things on a smaller scale, and are only fit to be hanged ; 
so, securing four of the band, the troops hung them next 
morning on a tree by the roadside, and the passengers went 
on their way rejoicing. This is traveling in Mexico, and thus 
it has been, to a greater or less extent, since the country had 
a history. ''Dios y ley P 

" Continuing our route, we had the delightful prospect of 
meeting two or three more bands of these highwaymen before 
reaching Puebla in the evening, and I began to feel exceed- 
ingly uncomfortable in the reflection that I might be obliged 
to enter that cit^y in the full costume of a professor of the 
manly art of self-defence — i. <?., stripped to the buff. But 
some good spirit prevailed this day, and caused a heavy rain 
to fall, which gave us a free passage through a long stretch of 
the banditti district, until we reached a small puebla, called 
Napalucan, where we learned the robbers were awaiting us at 



115 

one of their favorite localities about a league ahead, known as 
the Barranca de Aguilar. Just before arriving at this place 
we met several arrieros^ w^ho informed us that the ladrones 
had come down upon them at the Barranca and taken their 
entire train of lurros^ or donkeys, fifty-three in number, and 
made off with them to the mountains. Until recently this 
robbery of animals and freight-trains has not been usual, but 
now, entire trains with their loads, unless strongly guarded, 
are taken. The animals are kept secreted in the mountains 
several weeks, when they are driven by roundabout ways to 
the City of Mexico or elsewhere, and sold at a very low price, 
the parties purchasing driving them to other distant parts 
where the brands are not known and no questions asked, and 
in their turn, selling them to a profit. This is the system pur- 
sued in New Mexico and Arizona by those interesting and 
well-beloved citizens of the United States, known as Apaches. 
The only difference is, that the Government of Mexico has not 
yet reached that point of civilization and refinement which in- 
duces it to form treaties of peace and friendship with the high- 
way Apaches of the Kepublic, and establish agencies whose 
duty it is to issue to the marauders rations, arms, &c., to carry 
on their predatory warfare ; neither does the Mexican Govern- 
ment establish military posts which serve to create business 
for the robbers and cut-throats. And the Mexican Govern- 
ment, whether from a desire to put down opposition in business 
or not, does not matter here, but this Government does fre- 
quently catch and hang one of their highway Apaches. It 
might be well for the United States to learn how to regulate 
that portion of acquired Mexican territory named above, before 
entering deeper into the speculation. 

" We passed i\QBarranca de Aguilar^ and, in fact, completed 
the balance of the journey through the banditti district, with- 
out meeting any more robbers, or adventures worthy of note, 
and entered the City of Puebla at Y p. m., amid the general 
ringing of bells. I thought a great celebration was in pro- 
gress, but found it to be the hour of vespers. 



116 



'THE CITY OF PUEBLA. 



" The City of Puebla is situated on a beautiful and elevated 
plain, or table land, in the terra templada^ 1Y5 miles from 
Vera Cruz, and 75 miles from the City of Mexico. 

" This city was founded at an early day by the Spaniards. 
The streets are perfectl}'- level and run at right angles. The 
style of architecture which has come down from Assyria, and 
the solidity of structure which characterizes the labors of the 
Spaniard in this line, prevail here. The general arrangement 
of the city is exceedingly beautiful, and its locality is charm- 
ing. The population is estimated at '70,000, and a more 
fanatical, thoroughly priest-ridden community cannot be found 
in the world. 

" About 4 o'clock in the morning, I was aroused by a univer- 
sal peal of bells. It continued down to the breakfast hour, 
until dinner, night, and into the night. This universal and 
constant ringing of bells I found to be one of the daily mani- 
festations of paganism in the City of Puebla. The subject of 
bells is clear and distinct. The chime or sound of church 
bells, in time of peace, falls sweetly upon the ear, and carries 
an influence softly sad or cheering to the soul. Church bells, 
" bells on the wind," marriage bells, funeral bells, sleigh bells, 
dinner bells, and cow bells, each in moderation and in the 
proper place, perform their own particular service satisfacto- 
rily, but when it comes to a city full of churches, and the 
-churches full of bells of all sizes and sounds, each one of which 
appears to be striving to clang-whang the loudest, out of all 
harmony and reason, from early dawn till night, the ear is 
palled, and one becomes disgusted with all bells. But thus it 
is in the City of Puebla, and in any other but a pagan commu- 
nity, the priesthood would be indicted for causing an infernal 
nuisance. 

" The City of Puebla is full of pagodas, full of high officiating 
j)agans, such as bishops, priests, friars, monks, and .Jesuits ; full 
of pictures and images, outside as well as inside the pagodas. 
The ceremony of taking off hats in the streets of Puebla is 
carried on to a ludicrous extent. The people take off their 



117 

hats whenever they meet bishop, padre, monk, friar or Jesuit ; 
whenever they pass an imar 3, either in paint, plaster or wax, 
and whenever the bells inf cate that some particular perform- 
ance is going on in the pagodas. I made a calculation that a 
pagan devotee of Puebla, in passing through the streets, takes 
off his hat to bishop, padre, friar, monk, Jesuit, picture, statue 
or bells, on the average at least once in every two minutes, or 
thirty times per hour, giving to one whose occupation requires 
him to be in the streets, say eight hours per day, two hundred 
and forty opportunities to uncover. 

" During the several days of my sojourn in Puebla, there were 
what are called ^^funciones solemnes^'' or solemn performances 
in the pagodas, and grand processions in the streets, with can- 
dles, lanterns, banners with every description of heathen de- 
vice thereon; bands of music and cannon, filth, flash, tinsel, 
noise, abject stupidity and pagan fanaticism, led by those 
claiming to represent Christ on earth. The groups of bishops, 
padres, etc., which I had various opportunities of seeing here, 
presented the worst shaped heads, and in their persons the 
most gross and sensual appearance of any body of men that 
can be produced in any quarter of the globe. 

"All this region of country at the present time is given .up 
to rapine and murder. All the haciendas are suffering severe- 
ly — some are approaching the point of ruin. A large portion 
of the proprietors are now residing in Puebla with their fami- 
lies, to avoid violence and annoyance from the lawful and un- 
lawful banditti, who are constantly roaming over the country. 
Agriculture languishes, and all regular business in the towns 
and villages is exceedingly depressed. The City of Puebla 
itself has its full share of the evil. The poor are scarcely able 
to keep body and soul together, and m^ny who have been in 
affluent circumstances are now needy. Religious and military 
officials carry matters with a higher hand than ever, coining 
gold out of the sweat and blood of the people ; and this people, 
from first to last, are so lost in heathenism as to kiss the heel 
that is grinding them into the dust. 

" But what says the Mexican account of this city ? There is 
a book in common use here, recently published and written 



118 

by one who styles himself " Jesus Hermosa," the literal trans- 
lation of which is " Jesus Lovely." Speaking of Puehla, this 
book says: "The city contains 70,000 inhabitants, who are 
generally valiant^ liospitaUe^ pious^ courteous^ and enliglitened" 

FROM PUEBLA. TO IVrEXICO. 

"Having satisfied myself with regard to the community 
of Puebla, visited the Indian town of Cholulu, and seen some- 
thing of the surrounding country, which is very beautiful, I 
resumed my journey to Mexico, taking a seat in the diligence 
at 4 A. M. The road between Puebla and the City of Mexico 
has been so very unsafe that, in order to keep up a communi- 
cation between the two cities by diligence, the Government 
was obliged to appropriate an escort. This arrangement took 
place a few days before my arrival. We accordingly left 
with ten well mounted dragoons, and there was a relief at 
each post of about four leagues ; until we reached the moun- 
tains, half way, the guard was increased, and there never were 
less than twenty to thirty in sight. The country froin Puebla 
to Mexico, throughout the entire distance, is one of varied 
beauty. After leaving Puebla, you pass through the exquisi- 
tively beautiful valley of San Martin, and from thence begin 
to climb the highest mountains between the sea and the City 
of Mexico. About 12 m., high up in the mountains, you reach 
the little valley through which courses the small stream known 
as the Rio Frio. The village therein located, as seen from the 
top of the long hill, resembles a saw-mill settlement in Maine. 
And why not ? A cold valley, rushing stream, and pine for- 
ests, which supj)ly the City of Mexico in a great measure with 
lumber. . As we drove up to the/wicZ^, kept by a French wo- 
man six feet high, a regular Jonathan stood in the door — one 
of the old style, swallow tail, pantaloons retreating up his legs, 
and a huge freshly-peeled pine walking-stick in his hand. He 
was the presiding genius — the superintendent — of a glass man- 
ufactory in the neighborhood. 

The road over the mountains is generally in a shocking con- 
dition. I could not but think, as I went thumping over this 
highway with aching bones, how much better would it be if 



119 

the burly bishops, priests, friars, etc., of the central district of 
the Republic, were put to work breaking stone and macadam- 
izing the roads, now in such a dreadful condition through their 
heathenish despotism. Hand labor would bring some of the 
moral filth out of them. Their labors and their dollars should 
be devoted to the rejDairing of every ruined highway in the 
Republic. They would then commence their work of penance 
in this world, in sight of the humanity they have so outraged 
for ages. 

As you reach the summit of the highest mountain, the val- 
ley of Mexico, in all its variety and beauty, bursts upon the 
view. Take it all in all, probably nothing equal to it can be 
found in the world. Descending the zig-zag road you soon 
reach the table land, and pass on through villages and fields 
to the last post, ten miles from Mexico. From thence you 
pass over one of the finest av^enues leading to the city. There 
were two well-filled coaches, and a mile from the city we met 
a cavalcade of some dozen caballeros^ well mounted, who came 
out to greet friends, etc., and as we galloped on, I could not 
help thinking how much better this gay troup of some forty 
horsemen looked, escorting me into the city as a traveler 
rather than as a prisoner. President Mieamois" has my sincere 
thanks for this escort, and I wish all his troops were engaged 
in some such respectable duty. We entered the city at dusk, 
passed through the grand plaza, down a long street, dashed 
into a hole in the wall, rattled through arches and patios^ and 
brought up with a jerk in the grand patio of the Hotel 
Iturbide. Mitla. 



PUBLIC OPINION ON MEXICO. 

We continue the publication of extracts, in evidence of the 
mistaken public opinion on Mexico, so universally prevalent. 

EXTRACTS FROM THE " ATLANTIC MONTHLY," FEBRUARY, 1860. 

"It is impossible to believe that the Juarez government is possessed of 
much strength ; and the gentleman who lately represented the United States 
in Mexico (Mr, Forsyth) is of opinion that it is powerless. Nevertheless, our 



120 

government acknowledges that of Juarez, and has made itself a party to the 

contests in Mexico." 

****** 

" It is useless to quote the treaty which the Juarez government has just 
made vrith our government, as evidence of its liberality and good faith. That 
treaty is of no more value than would be one between the United States and 
the ex-king of Delhi. Nothing is more notorious than the liberality of parties 
that are not in power. There is no stipulation to which they Avill not assent, 
and violate, if their interest should be supposed to lie in the direction of per- 
jury. Have we, in the hour of our success, been invariably true to the prom- 
ises made in the hour of our necessities 1 A study of the treaty we made 
with France in 1778, by the light of after years, would be useful to men who 
think that a treaty made is an accomplished fact. The people of the United 
States have to choose between the conquest of Mexico and nonintervention in 
Mexican affairs. There may be something to be said in favor of conquest, 
though the President's arguments in that direction — for such they are, dis- 
guised though they be — remind us strongly of those which were put forth in 
justification of the partition of Poland ; but the policy of intervention does not 
bear criticism for one moment. Either it is conquest veiled, or it is a blun- 
der, the chance to commit which is to be purchased at an enormous price ; 
and blunders are to be had for nothing, and without the expenditure of life 
and money." 

EXTRACTS FROM THE " ATLANTIC MONTHLY," APRIL, 1860. 

" That our government means to persevere in its designs against Mexico, in 
spite of the misfortunes of the Liberals, is to be inferred from all that we 
hear from Washington. The victories of Oajaca, Queretaro, and Colima, won 
by the Conservatives, have wrought no apparent change in the Presidential 
mind. So anxious, indeed, is Mr. Buchanan for the triumph of his plan, that 
he is ready to seek aid from his political opponents. Leading Republicans 
are to be consulted personally, and they are to be appealed to and asked 
patriotically to banish all party and ' sectional' feelings from their minds, 
while discussing the best mode of helping ' our neighbor' out of the Slough of 
Despond, so that she may be enabled to meet the demands we have upon her, 
— not in money, for that she has not, and we purpose giving her a round sum, 
but in land, of which she has a vast supply, and all of it susceptible of yielding 
good returns to servile industry. 

* ***** 

" We need not dwell upon the importance of second causes in the govern- 
ment of mankind. We find them at work in fixing the future of Mexico. 
The final cause of the absorption of Mexico by the United States will be the 
restless appropriating spirit of our people; but this might leave her a genera- 
tion more of national life, were it not that her territory presents a splendid 
field for slave-labor, and that, both from pecuniary and from political motives, 
our slaveholders are seeking the increase of the number of Servile States." 
« * * » * * 



121 

" We have said enough to show the capabilities of Mexico as a slaveholding 
country ; and of the desire of American slaveholders to push their industrial 
system into countries adapted to it, there are, unfortunately, but too many 
proofs. They are prompted by the love of power and the love of wealth to 
obtain possession of Mexico, and the energy that is ever displayed by them 
when pursuing a favorite' object will not allow us to doubt what the end of the 
contest upon which the United States are about to enter must be. We have, 
then, to consider the character of the people upon whom slavery is to be 
forced, and the probable effect of their subjugation to American dominion. 
The subject is far from being agreeable, and the consideration of it gives rise 
to the most painful thoughts that can move the mind. 

* * * * * * 

There is not an argument used in behalf of the rigid slave codes of 
several of our States which would not be applicable to the enslavement of the 
black and mixed Mexicans, all of whom would be of darker skins and less en- 
lightened minds than the slaves that would be taken to the conquered land by 
the conquerors. How could the slaves thus taken there be allowed to see even 
their inferiors in the enjoyment of personal freedom ? If the State of Arkan- 
sas can condescend to be afraid of a few hundred free negroes and mulattoes, 
and can illustrate its fear by turning them out of their homes in mid- winter, 
what might not be expected from a ruling caste in a new country, with two 
and a half millions of colored people to strike terror into the souls of those 
comprising it 1 Just or humane legislation could not be looked for at the 
hands of such men, who would be guilty of that cruelty which is born of in- 
justice and terror. The white race of Mexico would join with the intrusive 
race to oppress the mixed races ; and as the latter would be compelled to sub- 
mit to the iron pressure that would be brought to bear upon them, more than 
two millions of slaves would be added to the servile population of Amierica, 
and would become the basis of a score of Eepresentatives in the national le- 
gislature, and of as many Presidential Electors ; so that the practice of the 
grossest tyranny would give to the Slaveholding States, per salium, as great 
an increase of political power as the Free States could expect to achieve 
through a long term of years illustrated by care and toil and the most liberal 
expenditure of capital. 

" The Indians would fare no better than the mixed races, though the mode 

of degradation might differ from that which would be pursued toward the 

latter. The Indians of Mexico are a race quite different from the Indians 

whom we have exterminated or driven to the remote West. They are a sad, 

a superstitious, and an inert people, upon whom Spanish tyranny has done its 

perfect work. 

****** 

" Even if it should not be sought to enslave the Indians of Mexico, that race 

would not be the less doomed. There seems to be no chance for Indians in 

any country into which the Anglo-Saxon enters in force. A system of free 

labor would be as fatal to the Mexican Indians as a system of slave labor. 

The whites who would throng to Mexico, on its conquest by Americans, and 



122 

on the supposition that slavery should not bo established there, would regard 
the Indians with sentiments of strong aversion. They would hate them, not 
only because they were Indians, — which would be deemed reason enough, — 
but as competitors in industry, who could afford to work for low wages, their 
wants being few, and the cost of their maintenance small. It is charged 
against the Indians that they are not flesh-eaters ; and white men prefer meat 
to any other description of food. Place a flesh-eating race in antagonism with 
a race that lives on vegetables, and the former will eat up the latter. The 
sentiment of the whites toward the Indians is not unlike that which has been 
expressed by an American statesman, who says that the cause of the fail- 
ure of ^Mexico to establish for herself a national position is to be sought and 
found in her acknowledgment of the political equality of her Indian popula- 
tion, lie would have them degraded, if not absolutely enslaved ; and degra- 
dation, situated as they are, implies their extinction. This is the opinion of 
one of the ablest men in the Democratic party, who, though a son of Massa- 
chusetts, is ready to go as far in behalf of slavery as any son of South Carolina. 
" Another eminent Democrat, no less a man, indeed, than President Buchan- 
an, is committed to very different views. He is the patron of Juarez, whom 
he would support with all the power of the United States, and whose govern- 
ment he would carry to "the halls of the Montezumas" in the train of an 
American army. Now Juarez is a pure-blooded and full-blooded Indian. Not 
a drop of Castilian blood, blue or black, flows in his veins. He is a genuine 
Toltec, a member of that mysterious race which flourished in the Valley of 
Mexico ages before the arrival of the Artecs, and the marvellous remains of 
whose works astonish the traveller in Yucatan and Guatemala." 



EXTRACT FROM A SPEECH MADE BY THE HON. FRANK BLAIR, BEFORE A NEW 
YORK AUDIENCE, AT THE COOPER INSTITUTE, JANUARY 25tH, 1860. 

" A treaty has been negotiated with Juarez, a pure blooded Indian, and who 
in the war of castes now existing in that unhappy country is recognized as 
President by the chiefs commanding in the outlying States or departments 
where the Indian races predominate in Mexico. His authority is disowned in 
the capital, and the central States where the white race has some remains of 
strength, and where the church, which has so long shielded them from the 
overwhelming numbers of the Indian and colored races, still guards and de- 
fends them with her power and influence. Mr. Buchanan has leagued himself 
with the Indian Juarez in this war of religion and caste ; leagued himself with 
the chief who has by edict already confiscated the property of the Catholic 
church, and will exterminate its defenders of the white race, in order to pos- 
sess himself of its spoils. The treaty which has been negotiated by our Presi- 
dent, proposes to furnish four millions of money to Juarez to prosecute this 
war against the Catholic church and the white men of Mexico. The President 
also asks that Congress shall surrender to him the war-making power, in order 
that he may support Juarez with the arms of the United States, and with 



123 

troops levied among the fillibusters, who are looking with longing eyes to the 
plunder of Mexico and its ultinaate possession. The Dred. Scott decision hav- 
ing already overthrown our free institutions, would carry slavery into this new 
conquest, and the system of peonage, the hereditary servitude of debt, would 
still more readily become assimilated to the peculiar institution. Inexorable, 
indeed, is the demand for the extension of slavery, when it compels Mr. Bu- 
chanan to league himself with an Indian in a war of caste and religion — a war 
against the proprietary class of Mexico, and to confiscate the estates of that 
church whose members in this country elevated him to the Presidency. (Ap- 
plause.)" 

That very respectable journal, the PliiladelpMa North 
American and Gazette^ has a Washington correspondence 
over the signature of ''''Independant^'' which forms a prominent 
feature in the paper. This correspondence has followed up 
the liberals and their cause, and public opinion on Mexico, 
with marvelous pertinacity, in the following style : 

WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENCE OF THE PHILADELPHIA NORTH AMERICAN " IN- 
DEPENDENT," JULY 12, 1860. 

{After the defeat of the Mexican Treaty.) 
" When it was thought a political object could be promoted by extending 
aid and comfort to the mongrels and mixed breeds of Mexico, who, under the 
name of Liberals, were seeking possession of power, but unwilling to fight for 
it as brave men should do, the President was prompt enough to recognize the 
Indian Juarez, who knows as much about liberty, in its high sense, as he does 
about the Koran. 

" It turned out like most of his experiments, and the ' Constitutional Presi- 
dent' of Mexico has not been able to survive the partiality of his friend in the 
White House." 

The foregoing extracts, in connection with those from the 
Tribune^ given as examples of the prevailing public opinion 
on Mexico, also afford a fair illustration of the manner in 
which our relations with that country have been treated by 
the leaders of the Republican party in the United States, es- 
pecially since the arrival of the McLean-Ocampo treaty in 
Washington. 

We have noted exceptions to this general course among 
Republican journals ; also, that a limited number of journals 
not Republican, have taken sufficient interest in the matter to 
give their earnest and intelligent advocacy to the policy that 



124 

countenances the "liberals of Mexico, and a treaty of amity 
and commerce with the constitutional government of that 
country. But poAverful as this advocacy was, it made no im- 
pression on the public mind, so effectual has been the per- 
verted use of mistaken public opinion on Mexico, and so art- 
fully have our sectional politicians managed in casting the bad 
character of our present administration, over those wise and 
honest measures with the neighboring Eepublic, which hap- 
pened to be brought out under its auspices. 

The reader will at once perceive how closely the idea of the 
Ilevue des Deux Mondes^ and of the London Saturday Re- 
view^ relative to the Indian element in Mexico, is followed 
throughout all the extracts herein given. Because the In- 
dians, the aborigines, the natives of Mexico, who have for 
centuries writhed and groaned under the heel of the oppressor, 
are, according to the best of their ability, endeavoring to 
achieve freedom, they are abused and denounced from one 
end of Christendom to the other. Because they are Indians, 
natives^ and have a dar'h skin^ they are held u]? to the scorn 
and derision of the whole world. And who are foremost in 
thus denouncing the Indian race of Mexico, and doing their 
best to crush out the aspirations for liberty in this race, be- 
cause it is Indian^ and has a darli:, skin ? Why, they are those 
who call themselves the leaders of the great Kepublican party 
in the United States — leaders who are fairly screaming into 
the public ear their hatred of oppression, their love for their 
Uach brother in bondage; their determination to give him 
freedom at all hazards, and place him on an equality with his 
white brother at the earliest possible moment ! What a fath- 
omless depth of cant and hypocrisy this glaring inconsistency 
reveals. The light it gives penetrates the dark, cavernous 
abodes of fanatacism, and brings out in bold relief the hideous, 
ghastly spectre of the " irrepressible conflict." 

Here is a subject of contemplation for Christians, philoso- 
phers, political economists, and humanitarians of every grade. 
The study of this most extraordinary anomaly has become 
exceedingly interesting to us, and we fear its solution will not 



125 

prove a very flattering commentary on the progress of Chris- 
tianity and freedom in the United States. 

The Indian element in Mexico is not the controllino* ele- 
ment in the present revolution in that country, as all the 
authorities from which we quote persist in asserting. But 
admit that the Indian element is the controlling element, how 
does it strengthen or improve their argument against liberty 
in Mexico ? 

We have not the S]3ace in the present number of our publi- 
cation to give any lengthy reply to the quoted extracts. A 
full exposition of the ethnological, religious and political ele- 
ments now at work among the Mexican people, upon which 
all these extracts touch in a manner calculated to give the 
public entirely erroneous views, would transcend the limits of 
several numbers of the Mexican- Papers. At the present 
moment, we must be content with simply pointing out some 
of the most prominent errors in these extracts. 

In the first place, we will inquire whether the Mexican 
nation is what the Trihmie^ in characteristic language, denomi- 
nates it, — " a huge, slunk mass of civilization !" And we will 
further inquire whether the world is so thorougly subdued, 
and the surplus of ready-made laboring men and women is so 
great, that several millions of this class of inhabitants in the 
southern part of Mexico maybe suffered to ''fester and putre- 
fy at leisure," after we have acquired the northern part of that 
country, "on our own terms," having assisted it to fall to 
pieces? It is estimated that the amount of gold and silver 
legally exported from Mexico since the conquest, up to the 
year 1858, is $4,640,204,889, or an average of $13,687,920 
per annum from the landing of Cortez to 1858. It is a well 
known fact that a large amount of specie and bullion has, 
from the commencement, been smuo^o-led out of Mexico, and 
$6,000,000,000 is doubtless nearer the amount actually sent 
out of the country, than that represented by the official 
records. This is one item only of material development by 
the race now so denounced by our philosophers and philan- 
thropists. The Indians have performed the labor, and white 
people have got the bullions. It is true, the Indians have 



126 

labored under the pressure of body and soul-squeezing agen- 
cies, and if Christianity, freedom, humanity and knowledge are 
obstacles in the material development of a country, then our 
great republican leaders are right, in an economical point of 
view, in denouncing the liberals of Mexico and sustaining the 
bigotry and despotism that have ruled the country so long. 

Another prominent error running through all the writings 
and speeches of leading republicans, opposed to the Mexican 
liberals and the Mexican treaty, is, wherein they attribute to 
w^hat they term Mr. Buchanan's Mexican Policy, any desire 
or purpose on the part of that functionary to co-operate with 
the south in a plan for the extension of slavery. Mr. Buchanan 
is not amenable to any such charge, and it has not, in any of 
its bearings, the slightest foundation in fact. We have taken 
the liberty to comment on the incompetencij of Mr. Buchanan's 
administration to achieve success in our relations with Mexico, 
by reason of its ignorance of the subject, and its lack of moral 
power. The truth is, the Mexican question had, in reality, 
overridden Mr. Buchanan's administration before Mr. McLane 
was despatched to Mexico, and that administration has had 
little or no force, ability or power in bringing forth the 
new policy with Mexico now before the country, and which 
must be attributed to Mr. McLane, who wrought it out under 
peculiar and extraordinary circumstances. When, therefore, 
the 2:)artizans of Mr. Buchanan bring forward the recognition 
of the constitutional government of Mexico and the Mexican 
ti'eaty, as an evidence of his wisdom and far-reaching policy, — 
and when his enemies bring up the same measures as an evi- 
dence of his being in league with southern slavery extension- 
ists, — both parties are indulging equally in egregrious and 
absurd errors. 

What contemptible features in American politics the eluci- 
dation of these matters discloses ! 

It is proper to state here, that we never have had one word 
of conversation on the subject of slavery with our Minister to 
Mexico, or any other party concerned in the recognition of the 
constitutional government, or in the negotiation of the treaty 
with that government. Whatever, -remarks appear in the 



127 

MEsicAisr Papees relative to the subject of slavery, are made 
on our own responsibility, as a matter distinct from any inter- 
course we may have bad with parties in Washington, or in 
Mexico. 

If ever a great measure of general and vital importance to 
the whole country came before the United States Senate 
without the negro in it, we believe it was the McLane- 
OcAMPO Treaty, but the negro was lugged in, and, of course, 
the ruin of the measure followed. The history of the treaty, 
which we have given, is sufficient evidence of the truth of 
what we assert relative to this point. 

Another prominent error, tlie most prominent of all^ in fact, 
promulgated by republican organs and orators is, wherein 
they represent with so much assurance and persistency, the 
possibility of extending slavery beyond its present limits, and 
the designs of the pro-slavery party in this respect, more 
especially with regard to the territory of New Mexico and 
the neighboring Republic of Mexico. There are a few of us 
who have had a practical experience in these countries, and we 
well know that all this rant and cant about the extension of 
slavery throughout those regions is pu7'e gammon. We would 
say to all those " irrepressible conflict" apostles who are siri- 
cerely promulgating so great an error, if there are any such, 
" you are a hundred years behind the age, you have no knowl- 
edge of your subject, and you are wasting an immense amount 
of time, words, pens, ink, and paper." 

We suppose the belief that slavery cannot go into the terri- 
tories, is the foundation, in Mr. Douglas' mind, of his doctrine 
of non-intervention ; and we notice the orators of the Bell and 
EvEEETT party assert that the character of our territories is 
now fixed for freedom, and that slavery cannot enter in. You 
are right on that point, gentlemen, and you ought not to be 
content with the mere belief and assertion relative to the fixed 
character of our territories, but follow up the subject closely. 
Take higher, bolder ground. Show how immensely free ter- 
ritory has gained over slave territory in these United States, 
and on this continent, since the adoption of our federal consti- 
tution. Get your evidence and prove that slavery has found 



its limits on this continent, and though there is a pro-slavery 
party, there are, in reality, no slavery extensionists^ because 
those who are called such hioiv full loell how impossible it is 
to extend the institution. Demand of the " irrepressible con- 
flict" apostles why it is that Texas does not propose to divide 
herself up into states, as she has a right to do under the com- 
pact by which she came into the Union. Demand of those 
apostles how it was that California leaped into the Union a 
free State ; and how it is that New Mexico, a territory that 
has been open to slavery twelve years has no slaves ; and why 
it is that the law protecting slavery, passed by the local legis- 
lature a year and a half since, has had the eftect to make ap- 
parent the impossibility of planting slavery in that territory, 
instead of giving birth to a single hope for the institution. 
Demand how it is that the territory of Arizona, open to 
slavery six years, has no slaves, and knows not the meaning 
of slavery from any experience of her own. Follow the sub- 
ject into Mexico. Sliow that the character of the adjoining 
Repiihlic is fixed for freedom. 

Follow the subject still farther, and make it known how the 
Mexican question has completely overridden the Republican 
party, and that this momentous question which inust be settled 
by the next administration, stands no chance in the hands of 
those Republican leaders who have no foreign policy, and who 
would assume power in Washington with even less moral 
weight on this question than the present administration. 

The "irrepressible conflict" leaders dread these develop- 
ments more than all else. Mr. Sewaed feels that they are 
already beginning to have their influence, and he is exerting 
himself to destroy the effect and keep up the sectional flame 
until after the election in November next. We detect this in 
every speech he makes on his western tour. Mr. Seward 
has clothed himself with an idea — the assumption that he is 
the incarnation of something like a Divine Essence — the spirit 
of progressive freedom on this continent, and many good people 
bow down to him as such. 

You who take the opposite ground, and whose business it 
is, give the j)eople light on this subject. The people need 



129 

LIGHT ! Tliey are ready to receive it. Every ray shed does 
some good, even at this late moment. Follow up the dema- 
gogues and fanatics, and puncture the wickedest political hum- 
bug that ever cast its dark and threatening shadow over a 
great and prosperous nation. 



TU THE MEKCAJNTILE AJND IJNUUSlKlAli UJLAfeS±iO. 




(5 



^W 




^ [FIKST SERIES— No. 4.] JANUARY 15th, 1861. Price 15 Cts. 



THE 

MEXICAN PAPERS 



".f^ 



■^THE MEXICAN QUESTION, 
THE GREAT* AMERICAIf QUESTION, 

WITH 
BT 

EDWARD E. DUNBAR. 

A SERIAL-ISSUED SEMI-MONTHLY. 



I^OSS Sc TOXTSE^iT, \2X IVassau Street, 

GENERAL AGENTS. 




NE^W-YORK : 
J. A. H. HASBROUCK & CO.'^ PRINTERS, 180 BROADWAY. 

1860. 



:^ 




OOI^TEIsTTS OF iSTo. 4. 



FAOE. 



PERSONAL— City of Mexico, '-131 

Population of the City of Mexico, ..._--. 134 

The Church in the central districts of Mexico, ----- 137 

Elements of evil concentrated in the Mexican Capital, - - - 144 

PAGAN DISTHICT OF THE REPUBLIC OF MEXICO, - - - - 148 

MITLA LETTER, -' - 151 

PUBLIC OPINION ON MEXICO, 156 

IS MEXICAN NATIONALITY DESTINED TO BE EXTINGUISHED ? - 161 

The Brazillian Empire considered with reference to Mexico, - - 162 

English diplomacy in Mexico, -------- 170 

VICTORY! 173 



J 31 



PERSONAL. 

A THOEOUGH knowledge of tlie city of Mexico, witli its 
peculiarities of geograpMcal position, variety of race, religion, 
finance, trade, and social life, is indispensable to a clear com- 
prehension of tlie Mexican question. The ethnological, politi- 
cal, and religious forces now at work tkrougliout the republic 
have tlieir bases in the capital, and a fair and careful examina- 
tion should be given to these also, in order that the subject 
may be' fully understood in its length, breadth, and detail. 

It is with this view of the matter that I am induced to give 
the follomng discursive remarks respecting the Mexican capi- 
tal and its surroundings. 

The city of Mexico is situated in latitude 19° 25' 45'^ K, 
and longitude 103'^ 45' 53" W. from Greenwich. Its elevation 
above the sea is 7,500 feet. The mean temperature of the city 
is 17° (R) 21° (cent.). The barometer varies between 23° 
and 23.2 English inches. The magnetic needle declines 8° 30' 
12" to the east. The prevailing winds are north-east and 
north. 

The climate is delightful to the senses, but the highly rari- 
fied atmosphere does not prove favorable to the perfection of 
health, or the highest mental and physical development of 
man, according to the standard of the white race north of the 
isothermal line. 

A stranger's first impressions of the city of Mexico are 
always of the most favorable natm'e. In the first place, one 
cannot reach the city without passing through reo-ions of ro- 
mantic interest, beauty, and grandeur, sufficient of themselves 
to excite the imagination to a most extravagant degree. Skies 
in which are exquisitely blended the soft and brilliant, a pel- 
lucid, bland atmosphere, circling mountains rising at intervals 
in stupendous volume, piercing the heavens with their peren- 
nial snow-capped peaks, and ovei'looking a valley of sm'passing 
beauty in its carpeting of green, its lakes and meandering 



132 

streams, its villages and cliiirclies embosomed in groves and 
siuTOunded l)y riclily-cultivated fields — all these dilate tlie eye 
of wonder and prepare tlie traveller of sound and sober judg- 
ment, even, to believe in the mai-vellous as he approaches the 
site of ancient Tenochtitlan. He enters the comparatively mod- 
ern city of Mexico, and his eye ranges with pleasure through 
the long straight streets, lined mth buildings of a light color 
and pleasing order of architecture ; and here and there in his 
perambulations, he stops to admire a private residence or 
pid)lic building, which, in its extent, solidity, taste, and im- 
posing grandeur, cannot fail to induce the belief that the peo- 
ple are far advanced in civilization and refinement. 

The display of wares and merchandise in the shops of the 
traders is brilliant and attractive. Beautiful French porcelain, 
costly jewelry, articles of cunning device in gold and silver, 
heavy rich silks and gaudy-colored cottons fill the windows 
and shelves. Parades and processions, military and religious, 
are almost daily seen in the streets. Every afternoon the 
wealth and fashion of the city congregate on the Paseo, a 
long avenue or carriage-road, lined with ash, poplar, and wil- 
low, and running through the southern suburbs of the city. 
Here, Mexican gentlemen in gay costmne and mounted on fine 
horses, pompously caparisoned, prance to and fro, or stand 
by the roadside to catch a glimpse of the ladies as they roll 
past in their equipages, the most of which are extravagant and 
showy. The scene is gay, brilliant, almost splendid ; and here 
again the observing stranger is induced to believe that the 
people must be high in the scale of that social intercourse and 
refinement which make life profitable and agreeable. In his 
ordinary intercourse with the higher classes, the stranger en- 
counters a dignified, gracious style of address and courtly 
manners. Fortuitously or otherwise, he may be the recipient 
of stylish civilities on the part of individual residents of the 
city, foreign or native. In short, the channels of observation 
ordinarily open to travellers and transient sojourners in the 
city of Mexico, are calculated to create in the mind a totally 
false opinion of {he political, social, and moral condition of 
the people. It is a city of glittering, imposing superficialities. 



133 

These outside appearances liave been most artfully contrived 
and maintained; and, up to the present time, they have 
thoroughly served the purpose for which they were contrived, 
namely, to cover up the revolting mass of rottenness and cor- 
ruption that poisons religion, politics, and society in this the 
favorite centre of Spanish civilization on the American conti- 
nent. 

The valley of Mexico, near the centre of which the city of 
Mexico is situated, is some fifty miles long and thirty miles 
wide. This valley is supposed to be the enormous crater of an 
extinct volcano, covered over with a crust of earth of recent 
formation. The locality of the city of Mexico, originally an 
alkali lake, presents the same physical features in its founda- 
tion as New Orleans, being a flat marsh, and water everywhere 
found three or four feet below the surface. For this reason, 
many of the buildings have settled considerably, and earth- 
quakes have done their share of mischief. The last severe one 
which occurred June 19th, 1858, cracked some of the largest 
and most substantial structures, and swayed others out of line. 

Father Motolinia, a monk, who was with Cortez at the 
time of the conquest of Mexico, enumerates what he considers 
to have been the " ten plagues of New Spain," one of which 
was " the rebuilding of the city of Mexico," principally, it is 
to be supposed, by reason of the fearful amount of human suf- 
fering, and the sacrifice of hundreds of thousands of human 
lives under the cruel and relentless power of the Spaniards, by 
which the reconstruction of the city was forced. It may also 
be inferred that even in the day of the conquerors, it became 
apparent that in some respects, a more favorable site for the 
foundation of the new city could have been found not very 
far distant from the old one — a site equally beautiful, and 
where greater permanency would have been attained with 
much less labor and expense. 

The accounts relating to the population of the city of Mexico 
are interesting, and in the highest degree instructive. The 
building of the city by the Spaniards, on the old site of Ten 
ochtitlan, dates eighty-eight years ])efore the settlement of Vir- 
ginia, and one hundred years before the landing of the Pilgrims 



134 

in Massacliiisetts. Accounts respecting the population of Ten- 
oclititlan at the time of tlie conquest, like every tiling else re- 
lating to that event and to the country, are very contradictory, 
and, in a great degree, uiu'eliahle. The Abbe Clavijero proves 
that the estimates of the population of the capital of the Aztec 
empire at the date of its fall, vary from 60,000 to 1,500,000 ! 
HuMBOLT concedes about 400,000. Cortez gives the number 
of inhabitants in the new city of Mexico, in 1524, three years 
after the conquest, as 30,000. In 1790, Count Revilla Gigedo 
ordered a census of the city, which gave 112,926 as the num- 
ber of inhabitants at that date. In 1803, Humbolt classified 
the population of the caj)ital as follows : — ■ 

"\Miite Europeans, . . . . . . . . 2,500 

White Creoles, 66,000 

Indigenous (copper colored), ...... 33,000 

Mustizos (mixture of whites and Indians), .... 26,500 

Mulattoes, 10,000 

Total, 137,000 

The latest official accounts (1856) represent the population 
of the city as 185,000. I have seen no recent classification of 
the inhabitants of the city of Mexico after the manner of 
HuiviBOLT. It is probable that something like the same rela- 
tive proportion of races that existed when Humbolt wi'ote 
(1803), holds good now, with the exception of the mulattoes, 
this race having entirely disappeared. Very few mulattoes 
are found on the table lauds of Mexico, and a full-blooded 
negro is seldom met with. It is an imj^ortant fact, and one 
which appears as yet to have attracted little or no attention, 
that the climate in those regions is destructive to the negro 
race. This is, doubtless, owing to the highly rarified and dry 
atmosphere, which does not admit of that free perspii-ation 
indispensable to the fnll development of those perceptible 
emanations of a strong animal nature, so essential to negro per- 
fection. There is an entirely wrong impression abroad rela- 
tive to the amount of negro blood in the republic of Mexico. 
It is supposed to be considerable, whereas, in many of the 
states, its existence, even, is not known; and only in certain 



135 

very limited districts, of which Vera Cruz may be considered 
the principal, can negi'oes and mulattoes be found ; and even in 
those districts they are few in number. 

On arriving in the city of Mexico, June, 1859, I found a sur- 
plus population numbering altogether something over 200,000. 
Many people from the surrounding country, w^ho could afford 
the expense, had resorted thither for greater safety. An in= 
creased demand for the necessaries of life brought in a great 
number of producers with their products, from all quarters; 
and under a ruinous system of depletion to the people at large, 
the streets were thronged, and "from hand-to-mouth" traffic 
was brisk. Owing to the deranged state of affairs occasioned 
by the civil war, many of the streets were in a very bad con- 
dition ; some, in fact, almost impassable for the want of repairs, 
and others blocked up by filth, reeking in offensive odors. Im- 
provements of every kind were at a stand. That delightful 
place of public resort, the Alemeda, appeared to be entirely 
neglected, and the grounds generally wore a slovenly and un- 
inviting aspect. I understand that during the past year, the 
work of ruin has gone on more rapidly than ever, and that 
under the present order of things, dilapidated ruins and filth 
will, ere long, predominate in the recently beautiful and invit- 
ing capital of the Mexican republic. 

It is a well-understood fact that when Spain exercised her 
dominion over Mexican territory, the city of Mexico was the 
centre of political, religious, financial, and social influence and 
power throughout all that portion of the Spanish possessions. 
The Spaniards were supreme throughout the length and 
breadth of the land. They held every office of the govern- 
ment; they monopolized the best trade of the country, and 
nearly all the active capital. Every avenue to political or 
social prominence of position was, for three centuries, most 
effectually closed to native-born Mexicans — Creoles, even, not 
being allowed to hold office, or to take part or lot in the 
management of the affairs of the country, either political, 
religious, or social. To such a degree of degradation were the 
native citizens of the country reduced, that the highest-born, 
best-educated, and most-refined Mexican lady would wed with 



136 

a common Spaiiisli l)oor ratlier tlian with a native Mexican 
pjentleman, in order to secm^e something like a social position, 
and esca2)e the odium and oppression that fell to the lot of the 
cruelly-proscribed Mexican race. Hence, with the first revolu- 
tion, arose the popular cry of, " Death to the Gachupins /" 
Who can wonder that the Mexicans hate the Spaniards with 
undying hatred ? 

Mexico became independent of Spain in 1821, and the 
federal compact upon which she presented herself before the 
world as a republic, was made in 1824. Here we come to the 
most important chapter in the modern history of Mexico-^a 
chapter which, in my opinion, is but little undei'stood. 

Singular as it may appear, the sepai-ation of Mexico from 
Spain, or what is termed the independence of Mexico, was 
brought about by the Mexican clergy ! But this fact must 
not induce any one to believe that the Mexican clergy, in a 
single instance, ever favored a movement that tended in the 
slightest degree to real independence and freedom. The regu- 
lar clergy were the most active and bitter opponents of Hi- 
dalgo, and other revolutionary leaders, down to 1S20, when 
intelligence was received in Mexico of the revolt of the Span- 
ish army in the Isle of Leon, and the revolution in Spain. The 
republican feeling which manifested itself at this time in 
Spain startled the Mexican clergy ; and when, at a later period^ 
the viceroy, Dox Juan Apodaca, received an order from the 
Cortes of Spain to proclaim the constitution to which Ferdi- 
nand had been compelled to swear, and to which was attached 
a decree confiscating the property of the Mexican Chwch^ the 
clergy at once changed front, and the result was, the Flan of 
Iguala, proclaimed by Itukbide at the town of Iguala, Feb- 
ruary 12, which severed at once and forever the connection 
between the colonies and the mother country. The basis of 
the Plan of Iguala was that the Mexican Church only should 
he tolerated in Mexico. 

A glimmering of the liberty and constitutional freedom en- 
joyed by the republic of the United States, had penetrated 
the Mexican country over which the cloud of despotism hung 
like the pall of night. The idea of liberty was abroad among 



tlie people, but tliey had no power to carry it out. The Mex- 
ican nation was prostrate — beaten, battered, and sore under 
three centuries of iniquitous oppression, both civil and relig- 
ious. Ten years of devastating, cruel civil war had intensi- 
fied the troubles of the people. Ignorance and poverty pre- 
vailed, and crime was rampant. In the city of Mexico, it 
seemed as though the army of beggars, thieves, and assassins, 
known as leper os^ would devour the little substance that re- 
mained. 

What a state of affairs upon which to start the hazardous ex- 
periment of a democratic form of government, for which the 
people had had no training, such as was enjoyed by the people 
of the United States before they declared and gained their in- 
dependence ! The Mexican Church alone had the vitality and 
power to separate Mexico from Spain. This was accomplished 
by the church for the sole purpose of saving its property; 
and that ethnic institution was not only successful in this its 
first object, but it became a greater power than ever in the 
land. It is true that the democracy of Mexico subsequently 
secured the name and some of the forms of a republican gov- 
ernment ; but it was the shadow without the substance. 

So long as Spain ruled Mexico, the Mexican Church commu- 
nicated with the Church in Spain, and not with the See of 
Eome. It was several years subsequent to the independence 
of Mexico before the Pope ventured to officially recognize the 
Mexican Church, and dispatch his Nuncio to the incipient re- 
public. Under the new order of things, the concentration of 
ecclesiastical power in the city of Mexico became greater than 
ever. New and more vigorous manifestations of the greed and 
lust of the clergy appeared, and they wielded their despotic 
power with increased force and effect. The superstitious feel- 
ings of the people were alone cultivated; the sale of indul- 
gences, great and small, of holy bits of 23aper, ribbon, gold, etc., 
etc., was increased. The enormous fees demanded and enforced 
for the marriage ceremony, caused thousands and tens of thou- 
sands of men and women to cohabit tos^ether under no leoa] 
form or ceremony. The cost of the burial service was made so 
great as to require a poor man to labor for years in oider to 



138 

secure tliat priestly adieu to his body on earth which, accord- 
ing to tlieir creed, Avould insure his blissful resurrection in 
heaven. The clergy have held a preponderating influence in 
all civil as well as religious matters. They caused to be es- 
tablished for tlieir benefit what are known fx^fueros^ or special 
privileges, by which they are constituted a religious hierarchy 
and a moneyed oligarchy, managing their vast property and 
all their affairs, both secular and ecclesiastical, without being 
amenable to any law of the land. The Mexican Church holds 
over one hundred millions of real estate, and mortgages in- 
nnmei'able on real property, of which there is no public 
record, and on which no taxes are paid. 

The Mexican Church, as a church, fills no mission of virtue, 
no mission of morality, no mission of mercy, no mission of 
charity. Virtue cannot exist in its pestiferous atmosphere ; the 
code of morality does not come within its practice ; it knows 
no mercy, and no emotion of charity ever moves the stony heart 
of that priesthood which, with an avarice that has no limit, 
filches the last penny from the diseased and dying beggar, 
plunders the widows and orphans of their substance, as well as 
their virtue, and casts such a horoscope of horrors around the 
death-bed of the dying millioiiaii'e, that the poor, superstitious 
wretch is glad to purchase a chance for the safety of his soul 
by making the church heir to his treasures. 

This, in brief, is the Mexican Church as I comprehend it from 
personal observation, and to prove that I have observed aright, 
it is only necessary to j^oint to the universal ruin and misery 
its rule has brought upon the country and the people. What 
nation on earth, I ask, could live and prosper under such a hor- 
rible incubus as this ? The Mexican Church always has been, 
and so long as it exists, always will be the great element of 
evil in Mexico, and there will lie no peace, prosperit}'-, or prog- 
ress in the country until this church is overthrown and totally 
destroyed, root and branch. 

Having briefly defined the status of the church in Mexico, 
and the position it has occupied as the chief element of evil 
in the country, it now becomes necessary to explain how other 
powers, influences, or agencies conspired with the chui'ch at 



139 

tlie outset to turn tlie j)roject of d republican form of govern- 
ment into a sham, and deliver the country over to plunder un- 
der a new system more despotic and destructive than the old. 

The federate states of Mexico started on their political 
course under the name of a republic, and with some of the 
forms of a democratic government, in 1824, with Victoeia as 
president. The leading foreign powers, except Spain, recog- 
nized the new republic, and dispatched their ambassadors 
thither-; and the advocates of freedom throughout the world 
indulged in a hope for Mexico. Victoeia served out the pres- 
idential term of four years. It was the first and last term ever 
filled to the end by any one of the incumbents of the office of 
president of the republic of Mexico. During the term of 
Victoeia, and some three or four years subsequent, all those 
evils that have so afflicted the masses of the Mexican people, 
and given the republic such a bad name, took their distinct 
form and purpose. First and foremost among these was the 
Church. Then aj)peared the old Spanish leaven of iniquity, 
as developed by what remained of Gachupin capitalists and 
traders scattered throughout the country, with their bitter 
hatred of the Mexican race. Then arose a desperate and un- 
principled host of conspirators against Mexican liberty, of the 
Spanish school of intrigue, backed by a thoroughly demoral- 
ized band of army officers without pay or occupation ; and in 
1826 the furious civil strife between the parties kno^vn as 
Escoceses and Yorkinos, names of Masonic lodges, broke out 
in the city of Mexico. 

The new-fledged republic succeeded in effecting a loan of 
$32,000,000 in England, and this, with the heavy investments of 
English capital in mining and trading enterprises, which took 
place in the early days of the republic, gave to British diploma- 
cy an influence in the affairs of the Mexican people, superior to 
that of any other foreign power. A strict regard for histor- 
ical truth compels me to state that British diplomacy in Mexi- 
co has, from first to last, next to the church, been one of the 
chief obstacles to the progress of liberal principles in that 
country. In this matter the British government has acted on 
a false conception of political necessity an.l commercial inter- 



140 

est, namely, opposition to the spread of the institutions and 
interests of the United States on this continent. 

In 1825 the American government dispatched the Hon. Joel 
R. PoLNSETT as minister to Mexico. This gentleman made a 
good beginning, but, subsequent to his term, American di])lo- 
macy has made but a poor figure in the neighboring republic, 
having generally foUoxoed in the wake of despotic agencies — 
never leading in favor of freedom and progress, until the pres- 
ent moment. 

Sj^ain, at first, refused to recognize Mexican independence, 
and for years she used all her artifices to create discord in the 
new republic, mth the hope of regaining her ancient colonies. 
But at last, in 1839, Spain recognized the federate government 
of Mexico, and Senor CaldekojSt de la Bakca was ap|X)inted 
minister to that government. The first envoy from Spain was 
received in the national capital with considerable friendly en- 
thusiasm, which, however, proved but momentary, and rela- 
tions between the two countries have been continued under 
feelings of cordial hatred but poorly concealed on both sides. 

All that can be said of French diplomacy in Mexico is, that 
of late years, it has been conspicuous only in its efforts to sus- 
tain despotic rule, both civil and religious. 

I have thus very briefly set forth the diplomacy of leading 
foreign powers in Mexico, as one of the principal agencies 
which has persistently and effectually opposed the successful 
development of a liberal, democratic form of government in the 
so-called republic. 

Under the combined exertions and influence of all these des- 
potic agencies, unfriendly to the regeneration of Mexico, arbi- 
trary laws, regulating the foreign commerce and internal trade 
of the country, by which these branches of business were con- 
stituted the most odious and oppressive of monopolies, were es- 
tablished and perfected. A high tariff on the bulk of foreign 
importations was imposed, and these same goods, in passing 
to the interior, have always been subject to what are known 
as alcavalas^ a series of interior duties, state, municipal, etc., 
which, in many instances, amount to more than two hundred 
per cent, of the original cost of the goods. Common brown 



141 

sheetings, the cotton goods most used by the poor Mexicans, 
and which can be purchased in our shops at retail for eight or 
ten cents per yard, are sold in the interior of Mexico at twenty- 
five to thirty-seven cents per yard. 

This system of excessive charges on imported merchandise, 
in connection with the high rate of duty imposed on specie and 
bullion exported from the country, is another of the great evils 
under which Mexico has suffered. It has proved the most pro- 
lific source of corruption in the government of the country, from 
the highest dignitary of state down to the lowest municipal 
officer ; and so great is the premium it offers to smuggling, that 
nearly the whole trade of the country is more or less of a con- 
traband character. The system of smuggling in Mexico com- 
menced, in fact, with the inauguration of the republic. In 
1830, certain American merchants were the most prominent in 
this business, especially on the Pacific coast. In a few years the 
American smugglers were superseded by Europeans, who have 
since held the -monopoly of the Mexican Pacific trade, based 
on the smuggling system. It sometimes happens that Mexi- 
can officials cannot be bribed, and a foreign merchant caught 
in false proceedings or downright smuggling, is arrested and 
treated according to law. Forthwith, a messenger is dispatched 
post haste, to the foreign minister in the city of Mexico, g-ener- 
ally English, with a flaming account of high-handed outrages 
against the person and property of a foreign citizen by the 
barbarous Mexicans. The foreign minister in the city of 
Mexico always knows of some tender sj)ot in the general gov- 
ernment upon which an effectual pressure can be brought to 
bear, and, willingly or unwillingly, an official order is dis- 
patched from head-quarters to the effect that ample remunera- 
tion for all damages and an humble apology for all insults must 
be accorded to the outraged foreign citizen ; and sooner or later, 
the order is enforced. Bring the fact home to those parties that 
they are engaged in a contraband business and they do not deny 
it, but denounce the government that will establish a tariff^ so ex- 
cessive, and affect to contemn and despise a people who will tol- 
erate it. When, however, the people determine not to submit 
to this oppressive tariff any longer, and rise in support of a 



142 

liberal go\-eriiiiieiit, based on a constitution which abolishes the 
higli tariff and establishes the principles of free trade, where do 
you find those foreign contraband traders? You find them, 
and the ministers of their respective governments, resident at 
the national capital, in league with the most active and power- 
ful foes of tliat same constitutional government of the people 
Avhich would do away with all premium and excuse for smug- 
gling, and relieve the country of one of the greatest evils under 
which it suffers. The reason for this course on the part of these 
foreign contraband traders is obvious. A material reduction 
of the Mexican tariff' would break up the monopoly they enjoy. 
A few of these influential foreign traders, with their resj^ective 
ministers, resident in the capital, regulate, in fact, the entire 
commerce and trade of the country. They sustain a high tariff 
and other hindi-ances to general business, by which means they 
create a monopoly. They WTong the government out of its just 
revenues, derange its finances, and impoverish its treasury, 
while, as powerful monopolists, they exact from the people ex- 
travagant prices for their wares and merchandise. Even the 
European ambassadors, resident in Mexico, frequently take ad- 
vantage of this state of affairs and of their position, to obtain a 
goodly share of the plunder. It is but a few years since that 
the French minister in the city of Mexico, imported carriages 
under the seal of the legation to such an extent, that one even- 
ing a mob, composed mostly of those whose interests were 
seriously injured by these importations, broke open the reposi- 
tory of the French minister, dragged therefrom his stock in 
trade, some sixty caiTiages, and burned them on the public 
Plaza I The English and French ministers who recently left 
Mexico, it is said with large fortunes made in that country, are 
accused by their own countrymen located in the capital, of hav- 
ing been extensively engaged in this species of contraband 
ti-ansactions, l^y which large quantities of merchandise have 
been brought into the city, to the injury of its general and 
regular trade. 

Suppose Lord Lyons, English minister, resident in Washing- 
ton, should enter English broadcloths, duty free, in the port of 
New York, under the seal of his legation, to such an extent 



143 

as to injura the trade of the regular dealers in the article. 
Suppose M. Mekciee^ French minister, resident in Washing- 
ton, should enter French carriages or French millinery goods 
duty free, in the port of New York, under the seal of his Le- 
gation, to such an extent as to injure the regular business in 
those articles. Strange and unaccountable as it may appear, 
these things are done by the ministers of the high and mighty 
European Powers, resident in Mexico ; and the half is not told. 
But are not such facts as these alone sufficient to prove how 
utterly abased Mexico has been by that foreign horde of sordid 
and vicious harpies who, as Christians, arrogate to themselves 
the right to fasten their Christian fangs — none are sharper^ 
none penetrate deeper — upon the poor, benighted Mexican 
people, and revel in the life-blood of the nation ? 

It is well known that Mexico owes a heavy foreign debt^ 
principally to the English. The Mexican government stipu- 
lated in convention to set aside a large portion, some forty- 
eight per cent, of the duties received at the custom-houses, in 
payment of this foreign debt. The system of smuggling car- 
ried on by foreigners on the Pacific coast, and enforced by 
British men-of-war, deprives the government of nearly all 
revenue in that quarter, while in the Gulf ports, commerce is 
crippled, and the revenue of the government is, at certain 
periods, cut dovm to a low figure, by the irregular proceedings 
and hard exactions of foreign ministers, consuls, and traders. 
A thorough exposure of the universal system of plunder to 
which Mexico is subjected in her business relations by foreign 
officials and traders, and a few capitalists, foreign and native, 
who mostly reside in the capital, would prove that the govern- 
ment of that country is defrauded out of more than three 
quarters of its lawful revenue ; and yet, when that government 
cannot respond for its foreign debts, these same foreign minis- 
ters denounce, threaten, and bully, and on recent occasions, 
they have even ordered their fleets to open fire upon Vera 
Cruz, the principal seaport on the Gulf, and exact payment 
from the constitutional government there located, at the can- 
non's mouth. Where is the nation on the face of the earth 
that is made to sujffer such abominable treatment as this ? 



144 

I have tlius briefly set forth the prominent evils under which 
Mexico has writhed and groaned in the agony of despair, since 
she attempted the expeiinient of a republican form of govern- 
ment. 

These evils may be recapitulated thus : 

First. The church, holding its occupancy in the souls of the 
people to the exclusion of every moral instinct, every virtuous 
sentiment, every well-grounded hope in the future, either in this 
world or the next. 

Second. The old Spanish leaven of iniquity, as developed 
by what remained of Gachupin capitalists and traders scattered 
throughout the country, and who are, with rare exceptions, 
cordial haters or despisers of the Mexican race, and determined 
foes to Mexican freedom. 

Third. A desperate and unprincipled bodj' of conspirators 
(generally Creoles or half-breeds) against Mexican liberty, of 
the old Spanish school of intrigue, backed by a thoroughly 
demoralized Ijand of army officers, without pay or occupation. 

Fourtli. The foreign debt. 

Fifth. Foreign diplomacy, in which the English have held 
the most commanding position. 

Sixtli. The high tariff established on foreign importations, 
the cdcavcda-s or duties imposed on goods going into the in- 
terior, and other hindrances calculated to obstruct the free 
course of general business. 

Seventh. Smuggling, and the universal system of corrup- 
tion it engenders for purposes of plunder, under the auspices, 
principally, of foreign officials and traders. 

The foregoing enumeration comprehends the most potent 
agencies of evil which have so feaifully scourged the Mexican 
peoj^le, and driven them into this last gi'eat struggle, which 
they maintain with all the painful energy and self sacrificing 
spirit of despairing and expiring nationality. In view of the 
narration of accumulated oppressions that is herein given, the 
most common mind ought to be able to thoroughly compre- 
hend the nature of the struggle now going on in Mexico. As 
these oppressions have become more and more exacting, oner- 
ous, and destructive, the suffering masses of the people have, 



145 

from time to time, made desperate efforts to relieve themselves. 
The whole history of the Mexican republic is but the narra- 
tion of short-lived, spasmodic efforts on the part of the poor 
and scattered masses to overthrow that powerful combination 
of church, finance, and trade, that grinds them in the dust. 
I will not enter into details respecting the past revolutions of 
Mexico, but be content with particularizing the one now in 
progress. This particular revolution, it may be said, dates 
back to the overthrow of the dictator Sais'ta Anjsta, in 1855, 
when General Alvarez, of the head of the liberal forces, pro- 
claimed the Plan of Ayutia, and carried on the government 
of the country until, the adoption of the present constitution, 
under which Comonfort was elected in 1857. 

The following is a synopsis of this constitution, upon which 
the liberal cause in Mexico is based, and by which the Juaeez 
government maintains its authority : 

SYlSrOPSIS OF THE LIBERAL COlfSTITUTIOlSr OF 1857. 

First. The establishment of a constitutional federal govern- 
ment in the place of a military dictatorship. 

Second. Freedom and protection to slaves that enter the 
national territory. 

Third. Freedom of religion. 

Fourth. Freedom of the press. 

'Fifth. The nationalization of the $200,000,000 of property 
held by the clergy, from which, and other sources, the church 
derives an annual income of not less than $20,000,000. 

Sixth. The subordination of the army to the civil power, 
and the abolition of military and ecclesiastical fueros, or spe- 
cial tribunals. 

Seventh. A reduction of the tariff, the stoppage of the sys- 
tem of exceptional permits, and the entire abolition of alcavala 
or interior duties ; also, the abolition of passports. 

Eighth. The negotiation of commercial treaties of the fullest 
scope and liberal character, particularly mth the United States, 
and including reciprocity of trade on our frontiers. 

Ninth. The colonization of Mexico by the full opening of 
every part of the country to immigration, and the encourage- 



140 



nient of foreign enterprise in every branch of industry, par- 
ticularly in mining and in works of internal improvement. 



It must be admitted, by every fair and candid mind, that 
this constitution strikes at the root of those great evils which 
have proved so fatal to Mexican prosperity, advancement, and 
liajDpiness. Then why not wish this suffering people success 
in their efforts to rise from their misery and degradation, and 
secure those blessings which, according to our own religious 
creed and civil declaration, are the inalienable rights of all 
made in the image of God ? Why must the entire civilized 
world persist in re-echoing the cry of bigoted and heathenish 
priests, unprincipled foreign dijilomats, and soulless, monopoliz- 
ing foreign capitalists and traders, that the Mexican liberals, 
comprehending nine tenths of the entire poj)ulation, are thiev- 
ing, murdering Indians, barbarously radical in their purposes, 
entirely ignorant of the principles of liberty, and wholly unfit 
to enjoy its blessings? The result of all this is, that the lead- 
ing European Powers and the United States practically sustain 
the infamous despotism of the Church-Miramon government, 
as set forth in the Plan of Tacubaya, proclaimed by Zuloaga 
at the head of a regiment of soldiers, December, 1857, and of 
which the following is a synopsis : 

SY]S"0PSIS OF THE PLAN OF TACUBAYA PROCLAIMED BY ZULOAGA. 

First. The inviolability of all church property and church 
revenues, and the re-estal^lishment of former exactions. 

Second. The re-establishment of the fueros^ or sjDecial rights 
of the church and of the army. Under these fueros, the mili- 
tary and clergy are responsible only to their own tribunals. 

Third. The restoration of the Roman Catholic relio^ion as 
the sole and exclusive religion of Mexico. 

Fourth. The censorship of the press. 

Fifth. The maintenance of a high tariff, the restoration of 
the oppressive system of alcctvala, or interior duties, and the 
continuance of special monopolies. 



147 

Sixtli, The exclusive system witli regard to foreign im- 
migration, confining it solely to immigrants from Catholic 
countries. 

Seventli. The overthrow of the constitution of 1857, and the 
establishment of an irresponsible central dictatorship, subserv- 
ient solely to the church. 

Eiglitli, If possible, the restoration of a monarchy in Mexico, 
or the establishment of a European protectorate. 

In the synopsis of the liberal constitution of 1857 and the 
synopsis of the Plan of Tacubaya proclaimed by ZuLOAaA, De- 
cember, 1857, as herein set forth, the two parties now strug- 
gling for the mastery in Mexico are brought face to face and 
held up to the view of the world. One is the party of liberty 
and progress, the other the party of despotism and retrogres- 
sion, and it is incredible that the Christian and enlightened 
Powers of earth should sustain the latter, and render the 
country occupying the geographical centre of the business 
world, the sport of those despotic and bigoted agencies which 
these same Christian and enlightened Powers claim to have 
long since cast out from their own borders. This extraordinary 
state of things can only be accounted for in the fact that foreign 
citizens residing in Mexico and their governments believe that 
the Almighty does not, as yet, desire this country should be 
allowed to enjoy those christianizing and humanizing influ- 
ences under which they claim to have been born and raised. 

I have thus given some general facts relative to the central 
and largest city of the Mexican republic, and delineated, 
fully as these limited pages will admit, those disturbing and 
destroying influences which ramify from this geographical 
and political centre to the outlying states. It must be ac- 
knowledged that one of these destroying influences has, more 
particularly since the construction of the republic, materially 
diminished throughout those states not immediately connected 
with the capital. In those states, the power of the priesthood, 
once supreme, has been gradually but steadily dying out, by 
which process, the power of the city of Mexico in the affairs of 
the nation has, at last, become so reduced, that wide-spread 
revolution maintained by those outlying states, is, it would 



148 

appear, about to triumpli over tlie capital and the neighboring 
districts which are under its immediate control, and which 
constitute altogether, what I denominate the Pagan District 
OF THE Hepublic of Mexico. An account of the extent and 
the characteristics of this Pagan district may be interesting 
and instructive at the present time. The folloHving is the re- 
sult of my personal observation : 

THE PAGAN district OF THE REPUBLIC OF MEXICO. 

The section of countiy comprised within what may be termed 
the Pagan district of the republic of Mexico, is immediately 
contiguous to the city of Mexico, and its geographical limits, 
which are not very extensive, may be as distinctly defined on 
the maps as those of any state or territory in the republic. An 
accurate conception of the locality and extent of this district 
may be formed by taking the map of Mexico and drawing a 
line from Perote south, to Tehuacan, on the northern side of 
the state of Oajaca; thence west through the state of Puebla 
to Amolaque, then circling through the state of Guerrero to 
Zacualpan, thence north along the eastern limit of the state of 
Michoacan to Queretaro, thence east through the state of Que- 
retaro to Zimapan, and then down the western boundary of the 
state of Vera Cruz to Perote. 

These boundaries comprehend an area equal to the state 
of South Carolina, and they enable one to comprehend in how 
small a space, as compared with the whole country, are concen- 
trated the evils of three hundred and forty years of a false re- 
ligion and a wicked government. This is the district, originally 
the most thickly settled by the Spaniards, and the people were, 
consequently, more degraded and oppressed than those of any 
other portion of the country. It is the most populous district of 
the republic, and here also lies the principal wealth of the church, 
and its power, though disputed in some localities even within 
the limits named, is, in the main, supreme. The evidence of 
the rule of the church is to be seen in the state of society, the 
appearance of the inhabitants, the number and style of the re- 
ligious edifices, and the performances of priests and people. If 
a mother has a daughter whom she loves, she keeps the sharp- 



149 

est look-out "for her ghostly confessor and priestly guide ; and 
the Duena system of watching the women of old Spain was 
never carried out so strictly as it is in the central district of 
Mexico. As a general rule, it may be said that any woman 
whose virtue or position is worth preserving, is never beyond 
the reach of a rigid surveillance five minutes out of the twenty- 
four hours. At the church 4oors and in the highways, you are 
pained and disgusted by the sight of the lame, blind, deformed, 
and diseased, standing, sitting, and lying, some on litters, and 
demanding charity " for the love of God, your mother's milk, 
and the Most Holy Virgin Maria." 

Funoiones solemnes^ or other religious performances may be 
witnessed in the principal towns and cities almost daily. You 
enter a church and invariably encounter a motley crowd, ex- 
haling unseemly odors, and dispensing small vermin on every 
side. There is a small sprinkling of well-dressed, well-appear- 
ing individuals found in these gatherings ; but filth, disease, ' 
deformity, brutishness, and abject heathenism are the prevail- 
ing characteristics of these assemblages and processions. It is 
impossible for an individual of respectable education and ordi- 
nary delicacy of feeling and moral sense — whether man or 
woman — to join a crowd in one of their Pagodas or Jos temples, 
called churches, without feeling ineffable disgust. No one will 
deny that these structures, especially in the largest cities, evince 
an imposing and noble order of architecture; and here all that 
is good, respectable, and decent, ends. Some of the cathedrals 
and principal churches have considerable solid gold and silver 
about their altars ; but the prevailing style of the interior fit- 
ting up is of the tinsel, flash, and tawdry order, interspersed 
with miserable daubs of paintings and images, intending to rep- 
resent Jesus Christ, saints, virgins, and martyrs. The style of 
raiment borne by these figures varies from a wisp of cloth, such 
as is worn by the wild Indians, to that of full military, fancy 
ball, dress, or Indian costume — a mixture to suit vulgar, vitiated 
tastes, and minister to superstitious feelings. This is the inte- 
rior aspect of the Mexican Church at the present day, and it 
must be said that of late years there has been a slight improve- 
ment. Fifty years ago, there was in one of the chui'ches in the 



150 

city of Mexico an image of the most gliastly and horrid appear- 
ance, intended to represent the Saviour. Its eyes were worked 
by wires, and the hirge, blood-shot balls were made to roll in 
the most frightful manner whenever it was thought necessary 
to inspire terror. This hellish contrivance proved too much 
for the sensibilities of a portion of the worshippers, especially 
women enciente and of a nervous temperament. Several cases 
of insanity occurring under its influence, it was finally removed, 
and now lies, with other rubbish, in an old stone house in the 
village of Guadaloupa, near the capital. 

The strange heathen mummery, a species of Nagualism, that 
passes in Mexico under the name of Christianity, may be ac- 
counted for in the fact that the adventurous, conquering Span- 
iards, superstitious, fanatical, and vicious themselves, encoun- 
tered in Mexico a superstitious, fanatical, but comparatively 
virtuous people. The Spaniards found the mythological sys- 
tem of the natives all-powerful, paramount, in fact, to every 
thing else in their social organization ; nevertheless, fathers of 
the Catholic Church, with the sword in one hand and the cross 
in the other, made light work of forcing the masses to undergo 
the slight formal process considered necessary to release them 
from what they termed the darkness of paganism, and bring them 
imder the benign, purifying, and revivifying influences of Chris- 
tianity. But now nearly three and a half centuries have passed, 
and it is found that the Christianity introduced into Mexico by 
the Spaniards has adapted itself to the paganism of the natives, 
and obliterated their original virtues by engrafting upon them 
the worst vices of the conquering race. 

In this Pao^an district we now find the heart of the Mexican 
nation wasting away at last in the rot of ages, and yet, in its 
wild and expiring pulsations, endeavoring to sustain the flow 
of vice and corruption throughout the land. Here, beginning 
with the priest, and ending with the political and financial 
intrigante^ we find a concentration of corruption and diabolism 
which will continue to fulfil its mission of evil until blotted 
from existence by something of a higher, superior nature. 
With here and there a noble exception, all above the poor la- 
bormg Indian, who is but little above the brute, are worse 



151 

than useless. There are but two classes here. One is com- 
posed of honest fools, without energy or individuality enough 
to make their mark for good or evil ; the other class is made 
up of vicious villains, ready for any species of villainy. All 
the ignorance, heathenism, vices, and worst propensities of the 
Spanish and Indian races combined, have settled in the fonu 
of a deleterious sediment on that fairest portion of God's crea- 
tion, the Pagan district of Mexico; and there does not exist 
among the masses inhabiting this district, except in the women, 
neither in their religion, their politics, or their social system — 
in short, there is nothing in their physical or moral construc- 
tion upon which to rest a hope for improvement or reform. 
Here the line between the central or Pao^an district of Mex- 
ico and the outlying states is distinctly drawn. In the lat- 
ter we find a people less imbued with superstition, less 
demoralized, and both Indian and mixed races, of a superior 
nature mentally and physically. These are the liberals 
of what is called the republic of Mexico. They form the 
liberal party of the country, and in this party the germ of 
progress, improvement, good government, and usefulness, has 
taken root. This is the party which, for more than three 
years, has been continually rising up at all points in the out- 
lying Mexican states, and, actuated by the most thoroughly 
patriotic motives, they have nobly and courageously met their 
oppressors at every point, and followed them to their strong- 
holds, determined that the revolution shall never cease until 
those evil combinations which exist in the Pagan district are 
completely broken up, and their power to oppress the coimtry 
is entirely destroyed. 



MITLA LETTER. 

City of Mexico, July 1, 1859. 

I have created a sensation, and my arrival in this city was 
the cause. Rumor had stated in advance that an American 
was en route, clothed with some official character to the Mira- 



152 

mon government ; and being the only American who had ar. 
rived iu this city from abroad since the Tacubaya massacre, and 
since the recognition of the Juarez government by the Ameri- 
can minister, the excital)le portion of the community was all 
ao-oor to obtain a knowleds^e of the strano-er and his business. 
Some characterized him as an envoy or commissioner, some as 
the agent oi JiUbu-steivs, and it really seemed as though the 
more superstitious part of the community regarded him the 
forerunner of an earthquake. The newly-arrived American 
citizen had the extreme satisfaction of overhearing, on several 
occasions, the probability of his arrest discussed ; and once, 
while quietly eating his dinner in a restaurant, he heard it 
stated that the said American citizen had actually been ar- 
rested and imprisoned. 

Though everj exertion was made to ascertain whether my 
aiTival was likely to endanger the inde2)e7ieia de la repuhlica^ 
and a strict watch was kept on all my movements for several 
days, no overt act was committed. I entered the tiger's den 
(^Palueia National)^ took out a paper of security, visited 
chui'ches and other public buildings, mingled with high officiat- 
ing pagans, military officers, soldiers, and people of every sort 
and grade, without let or hindrance. 

These particulars are given in evidence of the feverish 
state of the public mind in this city relative to every thing of 
American name or nature. 

All regular correspondence between this city and Vera Cruz 
ha™g been broken uj), and reliable information being scarce, 
I was plied with all sorts of questions, by natives and for- 
eigners, as to what the American minister and the Juarez 
government were doing in Vera Cruz, and what might be the 
ultimate purposes of the United States. The larger portion 
of those who approached me were favorably inclined to the 
liberal cause, but I was struck by the universal desire ex- 
pressed that the American minister had \dsited the city of 
Mexico before taking any step in the matter. His recognition 
of the Juarez government was generally approved, but each 
one seemed to have a 'plan of his own, and ^\dshed the recog- 
nition coupled with certain stipulations that would bring to 



153 

bear certain influences on particular interests. Every one here 
lias a plan of his own. It is tlie greatest country for plans 
under the sun, owing, perhaps, to something peculiar in the 
atmosphere. 

One prominent individual inquired whether Mr. McLat^e was 
a man of fortune. I replied, " I believe he is — why do you 

ask?" 

'^I was thinking," said the gentleman, "how he might have 
been influenced by offers that would have been made to him 
by interested parties here, had he visited this city before recog- 
nizing the Juarez government." 

" What kind of offers do you mean ?" I demanded. 

" Pecuniary offers ; offers of a hacienda, a sugar estate, land 
speculation, city property, or something of that sort," was the 
reply. " I)o you mean to say that this is the course the party 
here would have adopted with the American minister ?" " Of 
course I do," remarked the gentleman ; " this is the way all 
these things are done here." Too true. According to all the 
evidence before me, this is the way matters have been arranged 
with most of the foreign ministers since Mexico became a 
republic. 

It now appears as though the prompt, bold, and unbiased 
action of the American minister at Vera Cruz, would prove the 
most successful piece of American diplomacy that has occurred 
for many years. It is universally acknowledged that, if the 
policy of the United States, now so decidedly marked out, had 
been adopted years ago, the present evil state of affairs would 
never have be^n knovm. But it is, doubtless, for the best, 
that things are as they are. The evils under which Mexico 
suffers are now fully developed ; the principles which actuate 
the different parties are becoming understood by all the world, 
and better than all, the shoe pinches now where it never pinched 
before. Capitalists and mercantile men of every grade, many 
of them thoroughly unscrupulous, not caring how many throats 
are cut, how much blood is made to flow, or how rank the cor- 
ruption, provided they get their cent, per cent., are now winc- 
ing under the pressure, and for the flrst time, theii- interests are 
driving them into the belief that law and order should be sus- 



154 

taiiied, and tliat to live liere with any comfoii;, safety, aud 
profit, pronimciamentos and revolutions must end. The dis- 
tinct and decided action of the United States minister, so un- 
expected, because so different from the policy heretofore pur- 
sued, has wrought out this great change. Notwithstanding the 
English aud French ministers are, to all appearances, upheld 
by their respective governments, the f vestige and influence of 
these officials are destroyed. From the day the recognition of 
the constitutional government by the American minister became 
known in this city, every art and device that the leaders of the 
church faction, aided by Satan and the English and French 
ministers, could suggest, were adopted, to nullify its effect, but 
all to no purpose. The constitutional government and the 
American minister at Vera Cruz, pay no attention to the des- 
perate and spasmodic efforts of the faction here, but, according 
to report, are deliberately negotiating a treaty. The stipula- 
tions of a treaty, said to have been framed by the Juarez gov- 
ernment and the American minister, received in this city a few 
days since, caused considerable excitement. Though well satis- 
fied that there is no truth in the report, that the constitutional 
government has stipulated that 6000 armed Americans shall 
enter the country, it is, nevertheless, interesting to notice the 
effect of this report. 

The bare thought of armed Americans coming into the 
country strikes the army, clergy, and Spaniards with terror, 
while it is. generally deprecated by the masses of the Mexican 
people. The latter prefer that American power and influence 
should extend through peaceful channels, and. do not wish to 
see an American army within their borders, either as friends or 
foes. But many of the foreign residents, except the Spaniards, 
desire armed intervention by the United States, and that im- 
mediately. Some, under the pressure of a belief in the " mani- 
fest destiny" of the United States, rather than any particular 
desire of their own, advocate the annexation of the whole 
country to the great northern republic. Others think an 
armed police, composed of from five to ten thousand Ameri- 
cans^ would regulate matters, while others suggest that the 
United States, England, and France should take the country 



155 

in hand under a tripartite agreement. Those foreigners who 
have resided here for a long time do not express the slightest 
confidence in the ability of either party to maintain order and 
regenerate Mexico. They came to a country, the fundamental 
law of which is that the religion of the Mexican Church only 
shall be tolerated. They have lived here for years, witnessing 
the chronic disorders of the country, and at the same time ac- 
cumulating great interests. Now that the result every intelli- 
gent mind might look for sooner or later has arrived, they are 
ready for any kind of intervention that will save them harm- 
less. This is all very natural, but there is one point in this 
matter that astonishes me more than all else. It is that these 
foreigners, who really appear to be intelligent and well dis- 
posed, scarcely allude to the Mexican Church as the great cause 
of evil in Mexico. Though not participating in its paganism, 
corruption, vice, nonsense, and flummery, daily contact with all 
this appears to have made them callous to the fact that the 
chief and too successful effort of this vicious and retrogressive 
church has been to demoralize the peo23le and crush their 
liberal aspirations. These foreigners appear to be blind to tlie 
existence of the real evil in the first place, and in the next 
place, they do not take into consideration the fact that, as yet, 
the liberal party has not had sufficient power, to purge the 
country of this evil. The opinion of these foreigners, therefore, 
I consider of no great value. 

According to present appearances, the Mexican problem is 
working itself out thoroughly, truthfully, and safely. It is 
necessary for the United States to sustain the liberal party, 
make treaties with it which provide for freedom of religion, a 
moderate tariff and free commercial intercourse, and hold the 
country to these, without regard to the retrogressive faction, 
the foreign ministers, or any one else; and in due time, Mexico 
will be one of the most peaceable, prosperous, and happy 
countries in the world. 

Mjtla. 



156 



PUBLIC OPINION ON MEXICO. 

lu tlie previous numbers of the Mexican Papers we have 
given, in exposition of existing public opinion on Mexico, in 
Europe and the United States, 

First. A paper from the Revue des Deux Mondes^ published 
in Pai'is. 

Second. An article from the London Saturday Review. 

Third. Extracts from the Atlantic Montlily^ published in 
Boston; extracts from i\eNeiv Yorh Trihrniej an extract fi'om 
the speech of the Hon. Feank Blair, and items of correspond- 
ence from the New Yoi'h Tribune and the Philadelphia North 
American. 

It is curious to note the entire unanimity of statement and 
sentiment which characterizes these published remarks on Mex- 
ico, gathered as they are from localities so widely apart, and 
so decidedly dissimilar. By this eclectic method, we are en- 
abled to ascertain with accuracy the estimation in which Mex- 
ico is held by the leading nations of the world. 

We now inquii-e, is public opinion on Mexico, as it exists 
with these nations, correct ? It is safe to assume that public 
opinion is more frequently wrong than right. In the present 
condition of the 'world, public opinion is more generally 
founded upon error than upon truth. Error is violence to 
nature, hence we have nothing but a succession of contests, 
both moral and physical, induced by an erroneous and 
vitiated public opinion. Truth already pei-vades nature. 
Truth has nothing to gain in nature. Truth conserves, error 
destroys. Public opinion quite as frequently proves itself de- 
serving of contempt and execration as it does of confidence and 
support. When Columbus sailed from Palos on his first voy- 
age to discover a direct and short passage to the East Indies, 
public opinion did not favor the enterprise, and one of the 
principal reasons for this disfavor was the belief that the dar- 
ing navigator would sail so far down hill that he never could 
sail back again. At the present time, it is public opinion that 
negro slavery can be established in Mexico. Public opinion is 
just as much in error on this point as it was relative to naviga- 



157 

tion ill tlie days of Columbus and the particular hazard lie was 
likely to run in taking Ms course for the west over an unknown 
ocean. It occasionally occurs that a single individual, as in the 
case of Columbus, with no counsel except such as he draws 
from his own deep and truthful inspirations, will encounter the 
public opinion of the whole world and come off victorious. 
Louis Napoleon seized power in defiance of public opinion ; 
he has consolidated his power in spite of public opinion ; and 
in the development of liberal, progressive ideas, he has disap- 
pointed and overcome the public opinion of all nations. We 
believe that the present ruinous political conflict going on in 
the United States is based on a vitiated public opinion. It is 
a contest over a hypothetical negro going into hypothetical 
regions, and constitutes the fancy stock of a swarm of specula- 
ting politicians. The existing public opinion on Mexico, to 
which we have made such extended reference, we conceive to 
be as erroneous as any of the silly, mischievous, and exploded 
dogmas of other days. It is worthy of note that this public 
opinion on Mexico thus set forth is based on prejudice of race. 
This sentiment is remarkably distinct in all the articles and 
extracts we have published, and it is a curious feature of the 
times that the ?^6^/'o-philanthropists of the United States should 
be foremost, by word and deed, in proving their hatred of the 
Mexican race. 

The causes of the erroneous views that prevail with regard 
to Mexico, like the evils under which the country suffers, are 
co-existent with the discovery and conquest of the country by 
the Spaniards. In the first place, we regard neai^ly all the 
ancient history of Mexico extant, as false history ;* and it may 
be said that Peescott, in our day, has burnished up, and 
given glitter and point to erroneous Mexican history of the 
olden time. No one has followed up the exaggerations, incon- 
sistencies, and palpable errors of the early Spanish historians 
more faithfully than Peescott. No one has done more to 
cloud the perceptions of the present generation, or to throw 
obstacles in the way of a just comprehension of the Mexican 

* We believe Las Casas' writings contain more truth than is to be found in aU other known 
Spanish history of Spanish Amerioa. 



158 

people, their present condition, and tlie natui'e of the conflict 
now raging in that country, than our own favorite historian. 
This assertion may appear presumptuous, but the evidence will 
eventually appear. Pkesoott's weU-kno^vn honesty, industry, 
singleness of purpose, combined with his ability as a writer, 
have given to his " Conquest of Mexico^^ — which is nothing 
more than a beautiful, high-^TOught romance — all the weight 
of truthful, matter of fact history. Peescott concedes the 
christianization of Mexico, and his writings are eulogized by 
Spain. On these premises alone it is safe to conclude that our 
standard work on the Conquest is unreliable as a history. The 
author of that work never visited Mexico. Had he personally 
studied the country of which he treats, it is more than probable 
that he would have brought forth a very different work. But 
our historian states that his principal source of information in 
Mexico was Senor Caldeeon de la Baeca, the first minister 
sent out by Spain to the Mexican republic. Without intend 
ing the least disrespect to that gentleman, we wiU state that, 
in our opinion, Mi\ Peescott went to the wi'ong party for ma 
terial suitable to his work. A Oachufpin in Mexico may be, 
in some instances, instrumental in furnishing records, etc, 
which, in themselves, are facts ; but that the author of a histor- 
ical work of such importance should avail himself of the ser, 
vices of an agent, incompetent by birth and education to act 
impartially in the matter, must be considered an error in judg- 
ment, to say the least. Peescott was of too gentle a nature, 
too delicate and feminine in his mental composition, to wi'ite 
the true history of Spanish conquest and rule on the American 
continent. That history, faithfully and truthfully written, 
would present the most infernal epoch in human affairs that 
ever took place in the annals of time. In that terrible display 
of the worst passions of man and its awful results upon inno- 
cent and defenceless nations, there is nothing in ancient or 
modern times that can compare with it. It seems as though 
the insatiate demons of fire, rapine, and murder were let loose 
upon this fair portion of creation to torment, devastate, and 
annihilate without stint or measure. The evil of their ways 
remained after them, and the blighted remnants of Spanish- 



159 

American peoples now struggling in tlie painful throes of in- 
ternal sujffering, are but endeavoring to cast off the lingering 
ills fastened upon them by their Ohristian conquerors. 

We believe, however, that new light is beginning to break 
upon this great subject. It is certainly exciting increased at- 
tention, and quite recently, we have, to our great surprise and 
gratification, detected high authorities telling the truth relative 
to Spanish America, we are almost inclined to believe, inad- 
vertently. An instance at hand is the London Quarterly Re- 
view for October, which contains a very interesting paper on 
the JBrazilian Empire. This paper commences with the fol- 
lowing remarks : 

" The early history of South America* must forever stand out pre-eminent 
in the records of human wickedness. If the discovery of the New World is the 
great romance of history, its settlement and conquest form one of its deepest 
tragedies, for the subjugation of some of the finest regions of the globe, by the 
most advanced and powerful nation of Europe in the fifteenth century, unfor- 
tunately fell to the lot of men upon whom the multiplying villainies of nature 
swarmed in unwonted profusion; and the countries which long formed the 
transatlantic empire of Spain have, from the day on which she first planted her 
foot in the New World to the present time, never ceased to present the most 
painful contrast between the benevolent dispositions of Providence for the hap- 
piness of its creatures and the power of man to counteract them." 

This is certainly strong, clear, and pointed language, and it 
fully sustains our publication in one of its fundamental propo- 
sitions. 

We have also another high authority at hand, no less than 
the North British Review for November, which, in an article 
containing much valuable information, and entitled " The 
Spanish- American Republics,^'' touches upon the great cause of 
evil in those republics. Speaking of the Spanish- American 
countries, this Review says : 

" We find in them the elements of the same antagonistic parties as have long 
been contending in the older Catholic countries of Europe ; a priestly party, 
jealous of all liberty, and striving to bring the community more than ever under 



* European writers generally, in speaking of the South American continent, South America, 
South American Republics, etc., usually refer to the whole of Spanish America, including 
Mexico and Central America. They appear to regard the northern boundary of Mexico as 
the dividing line between North and South America. 



160 

the influence of Rome ; and, on the other hand, a party struggling for freedom, 
giving utterance to noble sentiments, that shine the brighter for the dark firma- 
ment on which they gleam, and encouraging hope for a better day than those 
republics have as yet seen." 

If these views could but prevail, and be acted upon by en- 
lightened nations, tlien, indeed, a brigliter day would dawn 
upon tliese republics. It is encouraging to see tlie subject 
treated thus by the high-toned and powerful British publica. 
tions from which we have quoted. The article in the North 
British Review has considerable to say relative to the struggle 
between the liberal and church party in Chili, and frequent 
reference is made to the writings of J. T. Lastakeia, an able 
Chilian lawyer and statesman, who has made himself famous 
in his own country by his powerful advocacy of civil and re- 
ligious liberty. 

There are four powerful causes that combine to create a false 
public opinion on Mexico and the Spanish- American countries 
generally. These are — 

First. Prejudice of race. 

Second. Erroneous history. 

Third. The belief that Christianity has ever prevailed in 
Spanish- America. 

Fourth. The church, or retrogressive party, throughout the 
Spanish- American countries, being too exclusively in possession 
of the means of manufacturing public opinion. 

It will be conceded that the most powerful of these causes 
which work adversely to a sound and correct public opinion 
on Sj^anish America, is prejudice of race. The other adverse 
causes which we have enumerated in this matter are artificial, 
weak, and transitory, compared with that deep-rooted preju- 
dice which, from its uncharitable, bigoted, and destructive na- 
ture, arrays color against color, blood against blood, the strong 
against the weak, the rich against the poor. Here, indeed, we 
have an " irrepressible conflict" which rages with such intensity 
all the world over, that the struggle of politicians in the 
United States, based on an assumed "irrepressible conflict" be- 
tween two systems of labor, sinks into insignificance. This 
element of evil in the public mind, arising from prejudice of 



161 



race, can only "be removed by tlie more perfect working of 
what are known as Christian principles, professed by the lead- 
ing nations of the world, who, like the Jews of old, consider 
themselves the elect, and, under Providence, the means of 
working out a happy destiny for the whole human family. 



IS MEXICAN NATIONALITY DESTINED TO BE 
EXTINGUISHED ? 

Ui^LESs some sudden change takes place in the politics of 
the world, then, indeed, the ethnological, religious, political, 
and financial forces, which now combine and work together 
harmoniously for the destruction of the Mexican nation, will 
do their perfect work, and the evil star that has guided the 
destinies of Mexico is fore-ordained to prevail, even at no very 
distant day. 

When we review all those malign influences opposed to the 
prosperity, the happiness, the very existence of Mexico— when 
we look upon the united front they present, and comprehend 
their power, consolidated by time, prestige, and union, it would 
seem as though every effort in opposition to this power of 
evil is but useless labor for an unavailable end; and as 
though an inscrutable Providence required the sacrifice of the 
Spanish-American race, in fulfilment of its own divine pur- 
poses. But every truthfnl mind must, in reality, revolt at 
such a conviction. The evil passions of man may bring 
about this dire result, and if so, then those who declare that 
the principles of common humanity are beginning to regulate 
the affairs of nations must be considered crack-brained en- 
thusiasts—talkers of sound and not sense— and that the moral 
tone of all the leading communities in the world is subservient 
to what appears to be an immediate material interest. 

When we review the present condition of the Spanish- 
American countries generally, with reference to the bearing of 



162 

this great question upon their various nationalities, the Brazil- 
ian E:\iriiiE stands out from the dark and forbidding picture 
in bokl, colossal, and pleasing proportions. That empire, origin- 
ally a dependency of Portugal, was, under the rule of that coun- 
try, reduced to a condition, more abject even than any of the 
Spanish-xVmerican colonies. In no portion of the American 
continent was the slave-trade carried on so extensively as with 
Brazil. Early in the present century, and before the severance 
of the colony from Portugal, it is estimated that fifty thousand 
blacks were annually shipped from the coast of Africa to 
Brazil. It is, however, proj)er to state that, for a long period, 
this trade, by means of the factory at Lisbon, was in the 
hands of the English. It may also be said that in no part of 
the world was the system of slavery attended with greater 
barbarity than in Brazil. It was considered cheaper in the 
plantations to use up a slave in five or six years, and buy 
another, than to take care of him. 

The bi^-oted and intolerant Roman Catholic Church of the 
sixteenth century — the curse of Spanish America — was sus- 
tained mth greater vigor, and more pomp and splendor than 
in Italy. 

The general system on which Portugal ruled her vast de- 
pendency created a stupendous commercial, trading, and man- 
ufacturing monopoly. The article on the ^'■Brazilian Empire^'' 
'in the London Quarterly Iteview, October, 1860, to which we 
are indebted for some valuable facts, states : " All intercourse 
with foreigners was prohibited by the most rigid laws ; and if 
a relaxation of jealousy was occasionally permitted in favor 
of foreign nations in close alliance with the mother country, 
the passengers and crews of such ships as were allowed to 
enter the waters of Rio, or any of the Brazilian ports, were 
placed under the surveillance of a military guard. The colonists 
loere not allmoed to produce any article loliich the mother coun- 
try could supply. Even Hijmbolt, in travellmg in South 
America for purely scientific purposes, was not allowed to en- 
ter any portion of the Brazilian empii'e." 

In short, all those prominent evils that have so afflicted Mexi- 
co, and, we may say, all other Spanish- American countries, had 



163 

still deeper root, if sucli a thing were possible, in tlie Portu- 
guese dependency of Brazil. But now, how changed! 

The abject dependence of Brazil continued down to an early 
period of the present century, when the world-moving opera- 
tions of Napoleon had the effect to vitalize that country, and 
create such remarkable changes, both there and in the mother 
country, that in 1822 the independence of Brazil was suddenly 
and almost peacefully accomplished. In 1824, the same year 
that witnessed the formation of the federal constitution of 
Mexico, the present constitution of Brazil (with the exception 
of some slight changes recently made) was established. This 
constitution provides for a hereditary, constitutional monarchy 
of the most liberal character. Judicial proceedings are pub- 
lic. It provides for the habeas-corpus act as well as the insti- 
tution of trial by jury. The legislative power is vested in the 
general assembly. It consists of a senate and chamber of 
deputies. For the latter, every male citizen of full age, if he 
possess an income of one hundred milreis (fifty dollars), is en- 
titled to vote ; but monks and domestic servants are excluded 
from the franchise. Senators for life are nominated by provin- 
cial electors in triple lists, from which three candidates are 
submitted to the emperor, who selects one ; the principles of 
popular election and crown nomination are thus combined in 
the constitution of the second estate. Although Brazil does 
not possess the materials of a territorial peerage, it has con- 
stituted a second chamber as an element of vital importance 
in a popular government. Nobility in Brazil is not hereditary ; 
it is conferred for public services and civil merit alone. There 
are four titles— those of marquis, count, viscount, and baron. 
The emperor possesses a legislative suspensive veto only. 

The dispensation of justice, although perhaps not perfect, 
or free from some suspicion of corruption, is conducted with 
becoming solemnity, and is, on the whole, said to be satisfac- 
tory. One of the legal institutions of the country merits par- 
ticular notice. Courts of conciliation are established through- 
out the empire ; and no cause can be brought into any of the 
regular courts of law without a certificate from the district 
officer, that the parties to the suit have previously appeared 



164 

before Mm and endeavored to accommodate their differences. 
We commend this Liw to our legal reformers, as it must in- 
evitably diminish immensely the amount of unnecessary litiga- 
tion. 

The country is divided into provinces, and there is a legisla- 
tive assembly for each province. The presidents of the prov- 
inces are appointed by the emperor. There is no proscription 
on account of color, and though legally the blacks are eligible 
to office, they do not aspire to prominence in public or private 
life, but rest quiet and contented in the conviction that they 
occupy a position fully equal to what nature intended it 
should be. 

The religion of the state is Roman Catholic ; hut the principle 
upon wliicli the Roman Catholic Church is hased is altogether 
ahjured in Brazil. Religious toleration is one of the funda- 
mental principles of the constitution. All have full and entire 
Uherty to profess and exercise any religion whatever.^ and to 
erect religious edifices. The provincial assemblies have fuE 
power to legislate for ecclesiastical objects. On several occa- 
sions, the general assembly of Brazil has enacted laws to re- 
strain the interference and curtail the authority of the Pope. 
At one remarkable crisis a complete separation from Home was 
imminent, which would have been hailed, it is believed, with 
general satisfaction by the people. There cannot be a doubt 
but that the ties which bind this country to the Papacy are 
now of the slightest character, and might, with very little 
provocation, be snapped asunder any day. The religion of the 
Church of Rome has no root in the land ; the priesthood are said 
to be diminishing year by year, and to have been recently so 
reduced in number that the government was under the neces- 
sity of sending to Italy for a fresh supply to keep up the reg- 
ular ministrations of the church. 

The institution of slavery in Brazil, under the operation of 
the constitution and public opinion, is in process of gradual 
and certain extinction. In 1850 measures were adopted for 
the abolition of the slave-trade, and, in 1853, there was not 
a single disembarkation. As a proof that the Brazilians have 
thoroughly abandoned the traffic in human flesh, it may be 



165 

stated tliat a slaver taken, in January, 1856, into BaHa and 
condemned, liad touclied at five places along tlie coast previous 
to lier detection, but liad not succeeded in selling a single slave. 

The condition of the slaves is highly creditable to the country. 
By the Brazilian law, a slave can, at any time, appear before a 
magistrate, have his price fixed, and purchase his freedom. 
There is a system of colonization in progress intended to sup- 
ply the gradually diminishing quantity of slave labor, and the 
statesmen of the empire are said to be devoting much time and 
attention to discover the best means of promoting immigra- 
tion. Germany, Portugal, the Azores, and Madeira are con- 
stantly supplying laborers, attracted by the prospect which 
Brazil holds out to them, and there seems to be no doubt that 
the free African population will eventually fully suffice for 
those occupations in a tropical country for which the white 
race is necessarily unfitted. And now we come to a point in 
this matter which we particularly recommend to the attention 
of the abolitionists of the United States, and their brethren, 
the apostles of the " irrepressible conflict" doctrine. 

For more than three hundred years, the entire agricultural 
and manufacturing interests of Brazil, from north to south, 
from east to west, have been based on slave labor. The insti- 
tution of slavery has entered more thoroughly into the indus- 
trial system of Brazil than it has into that of the United 
States. Natural causes favor the system of slave labor in 
Brazil more than they do in the United States, and though 
the number of slaves in the former country reaches 3,000,000, 
the institution of slavery is steadily and surely coming to an 
end in that empire. And yet, though freedom of speech is 
allowed, and the press is free, they never had an anti-slavery 
society in Brazil, nor an anti-slavery journal. They never had 
any abolition agitators like Wm. Lloyd Gaeeisok, Wendell 
Phillips, etc., nor anti-slavery preachers like the Kev's Cheever 
and Beechee, nor politicians of the Wm. H. Sewaed stamp, to 
create sectional parties, and inaugurate a bloody, fratricidal 
strife. The " irrepressible conflict" doctrine was never known 
in Brazil, and yet the institution of slavery in that country is 
peacefully yielding to the system of free labor, in obedience to 



166 

natural law, and the powerful, undivided pressure of public 
opinion. 

And tlius it would Lave been in tlie United States, but for 
that development of practical infidelity which, fi-om the want 
of faith, arrogates to itself the attributes of deity, and though 
claiming to act under the higher law, virtually sets the higher 
law at defiance by attempting to take it into its own hands. 

The Emperor of Brazil is a noble representative of the 
house of Braganza, and under the constitution which he faith- 
ftdly administers, the country is making prodigious strides in 
intellectual and material advancement. It is true that, as yet, 
the standai'd of Brazilian morality is not of the highest order, 
but the country is in a transition state. Education, intelli- 
gence, and civilization are steadily spreading over the land. 
The public credit is almost equal to that of the most respecta- 
ble Euroj^ean governments, and a country of which, the first 
year or two of its independence, the currency consisted chiefly 
of copper and the notes of an insolvent bank, may now present 
itself as a borrower in the capitals of any of the moneyed 
states of Europe, with the assurance of a favorable reception. 

The population is steadily increasing. A large and most 
valuable trade has sprung up ; and there is scarcely a civilized 
country that does not gladly exchange its manufactures and 
cbmmodities for the productions of Brazil. The commerce of 
the country rather more than doubles every ten years. Herewith 
is a table of the commercial exchanges for the past ten years : 

Total Commercial 
Imports. Exports. Exchanges. 

1849-0 $29,582,500 $27,516,000 $57,341,000 

1850-1 38,459,000 33,890,000 72,349,000 

1851-2 46,430,000 33,320,000 79,750,000 

1852-3 43,666,000 36,822,000 80,488,000 

1853-4 42,919,000 38,421,000 81,340,000 

1854-5 42,585,000 45,349,000 87,934,000 

1855-6 44,200,300 47,216,000 91,476,300 

1856-7 62,613,000 57,273,000 119,886,000 

1857-8 65,131,500 49,099,500 114,131,000 

1858-9 63,634,000 53,371,000 117,025,000 

The population of the Brazilian empire is 8,6 Y 7,800, and it 



167 . 

contains witMn its borders 2,9*73,406 square miles. An esti- 
mate of the colossal proportions of this empire .can only be 
formed by comparing it witli some of tlie great countries of 
tlie eartL European Russia lias an area of 2,142,504 square 
miles, and tlie remainder of Europe occupies 1,687,626. The 
United States possess an area of 2,990,166 square miles. 
Brazil, therefore, has considerably more territory than European 
Russia, nearly double that of the remainder of Europe, and 
but little less than the entire American Union. 

Here, then, we have a vast and magnificent region, lavishly 
endowed by nature, sparsely inhabited at present, it is true, 
yet making wonderful progress in all that constitutes national 
greatness and power. 

I:^ in giving this succinct outline of the Brazilian empire, we 
have digressed from our principal theme, it is to institute a 
comparison between that country and Mexico ; and to hold up 
the former in all its magnificent proportions and rapid advance- 
ment, as an interesting and instructive study for our own peo- 
ple, and in opposition to the despicable idea, so prevalent, that 
something like a curse rests upon the Spanish- American race 
on this continent, and that the Anglo-Saxon race, under Provi- 
dence, is to be the instrument for the execution of this curse, 
by sweeping those despised nationalities from the face of the 
earth. This idea that God hates any portion of the human fam- 
ily on account of color, race, inferiority, or misfortune, is a Sa- 
tanic sentiment that has been incorporated into the political 
creed, and we might almost say, the religious faith of the Amer- 
ican- nation, North as well as South. Under this idea, national 
crimes are committed sufficient to sink us as a nation, and it is 
well to inquire whether we are not now absolutely sinking by 
reason of its evil infi.uence and weight. 

Forty years ago, the masses of the Bazilian people were in 
that abject condition but little above the brute. Now, these 
same masses are making such rapid progress in all that tends 
to national greatness, that in the ordinary course of events, they 
will, at no very remote period, command the admiration and 
respect of the most enlightened peoples, and rank among the 
leading Powers of the world. 



168 

Brazil started on her new political career the same year as 
Mexico. The population of the former country is but little 
more than that of the latter, and the characteristics of race in 
both countries are similar. In cluuate and physical features 
there is not sufficient difference between Brazil and Mexico, to 
create any marked dissimilarity of character in the two nations. 
Brazil started with a constitutional monarchy : Mexico adopted 
the democratic form of government. We do not propose to 
argue the point as to Avhich of these two forms of government 
is the best for the Spanish- American people. At the present 
moment, we wish to point out the great fact, the most imj^or- 
tant fact of all, namely, that the foundation of the government 
of Brazil was civil and religious liberty^ while that of Mexico 
was civil and religious despotism of the most degrading and 
despotic character. Now compare the condition of the two 
countries. One aifords an astonishing, stupendous example 
of progress : the other lies j^rostrate, wi'etched, and bleeding, 
with scarcely strength to profit by the victory over the enemies 
of her freedom, w^hich has recently been so gloriously won. 
Can any one be blind to the real cause of the immense differ- 
ence that now exists between Mexico and Brazil ? We jour- 
neyed, some years ago, along the Ehone where it divides Swit- 
zerland from Savoy. Riding on the banquette of the diligence, 
we noticed that on the Swiss side of the river, the people, 
houses, grounds, etc., looked flouiishing, neat, and comfortable ; 
while on the Savoy side, every thing had a slovenly, rack-and- 
ruin apj^earance. In our wonder that so much difference could 
exist in a region divided by a stream which, in places, seemed 
but a few yards in width, we inquired the reason of the con- 
ductor. " Voila le padre^'' said the conductor, mth a French- 
man's shrug, and significantly pointing to an individual in cler- 
ical hat and raiment walking on the Savoy side of the river. 
This was the reply we got ; and it was quite sufficient. Swit- 
zerland was in the enjoyment of freedom in religion, while 
Savoy groaned under priestly despotism. Brazil is the only 
countiy in Spanish America whose fundamental law has sus- 
tained religious toleration, and she is the only bright example 
of advancement among those degenerated and unhappy nations. 



169 

" Yolla le padre^'' we say, wlien we point out tlie first and great 
cause of difference between Brazil and Mexico. 

The history of Brazil is full of instruction, especially to the 
statesman. The American people, particularly in the North, 
are accustomed to vaunt their rapid advancement as something 
miraculous in the history of nations ; and to attribute such ad- 
vancement to the fact that the forefathers, taken in hand by a 
special Providence, and placed on these shores, were of a higher 
order in a religious and political point of view than any 
class of men that ever sought to better their fortunes by 
migrating from one land to another. We do not dispute 
this assumption, but we point to the fact that now, while our 
own glorious confederacy, founded by our own worshipped 
forefathers, is crumbling and falling — ^rocking, reeling, and 
yielding in all its towering, giant strength to ceaseless and in- 
numerable fanatical blows from fanatical pigmies, the imme- 
diate descendants of those same nation-creating forefathers — 
while this work of national destruction is going on at a fearful 
rate, we see looming up on the southern half of this continent 
a colossal empire, founded on a nationality we denounce and 
despise, but whose evident prosperity and rapid growth equal, 
if they do not surpass our own, when we consider the defective 
elements which composed Brazilian nationality when the ex- 
periment of a new government was commenced. How is it 
that this nationality has so suddenly and so immensel}' im- 
proved \ In reply to this question, we give the words of 
SouTHEY, who, in his history, says, " Long left to chance, it is 
by individual industry and enterprise, and by the operation of 
the common laws of nature and society^ that this empire has 
risen and flourished, extensive as it is, and mighty as it must 
one day become ; for its first colonists were ignoble men, carry- 
ing on an obscure warfare, the consequences of which have 
been greater and will be more dui'able than those produced by 
the conquests of ALEXAi!^DEK and Charlemagne." 

Deny it as we will, we cannot obliterate, no, we cannot mit- 
igate the fact that though our Declaration of Independence is 
a perfect declaration of human rights, our written fundamental 
la/w is, in one respect, against the " operation of the common 



170 

laws of nature and society," and under the pretence of remedy- 
ing tlie great national evil tliat has grown out of that error in 
our written fundamental law, we do a still greater wrong in this 
more enlightened age, hy deliberately ignoring the " operation 
of the common laws of nature and society ^^ and force an unnat- 
ural result, which brings dissolution, disorder, and internecine 
wars, terminating at last in national ruin. Who can tell wdiat 
race, what nation, what country will be the leading Power on 
this continent half a centuiy hence ? 

But to retui'n more directly to the question of Mexican na- 
tionality. The liberals have just gained a complete victory 
over the forces of the church, and the constitutional govern- 
ment is now located in the capital of the republic. This vic- 
tory comes none too soon. It improves the condition of affaii's 
vastly, but a new season of trial is now before those patriotic 
Mexicans, whose noble and self-sacrificing struggles have 
brought about the present happy result. It remains to be seen 
whether the liberals will be united among themselves, and 
whether foreign claimants will show any mercy. Let Mexico 
now be true to herself, and there is reason to hope that all will 
be well. 

We have remarked upon the character of the foreign diplo- 
macy which has heretofore prevailed in Mexico. England has 
carefully nursed those evils which have ab'eady come so near 
destroying Mexican nationality. England has pursued this 
course in spite of irrefragable evidence that in so doing she was 
completely annihilating her Mexican interests. 

The exports to Vera Cruz of British produce and manufac- 
tures were, in 1856, £887,862; 1857, ^£567,311; 1858,^6411,831. 
We have not the figui^es for 1859 and 1860, but we understand 
that the amount has dwindled down to an exceedingly low 
point. In addition to this, there has been little or no interest 
paid on the debts due to the English, for the past six years ; 
and, as if to cap the climax, and exj)ose the folly of English 
policy in Mexico, about $1,000,000, interest money due to 
English claimants, w'hich had accumulated in the city of Mex- 
ico, was, on the 19th day of November, 1860, by force of 
arms, burglariously abstracted from the vaults of the English 



m 

legation, by the very government that England liad so persist- 
ently and sc powerfully sustained. Tlie active partisanship 
of Mr. Otway, late English minister to Mexico, in sustaining 
the church faction, is now a matter of history. It would ap- 
pear that Mr. Otway was recalled .the latter part of 1859, on 
account of the honest indignation manifested at his course hj 
the English residents of Mexico, engaged in legitimate business. 
As a curious instance of the thoroughly besotted condition of 
the public mind in England, relative to Mexican affairs, we 
give the following : 

From the London Times. 
"a testimonial to minister otwat, 

" On the recent arrival in London of Mr. Otway, her Majesty's late minister 
plenipotentiary in Mexico, the Mexican-British bondholders presented him with 
a valuable and elegant testimonial expressive of their gratitude for the assist- 
ance they had received from him while fulfilling his official duties in Mexico. 
The testimonial consists of a massive silver candelabrum of ten lights, the stem 
bearing the lights arising from a triangular base, upon which are allegorical 
figures representing the services rendered by Mr. Otway under the impersona- 
tion of Britannia protecting commerce. The figure of Mexico occupies a prom- 
inent position, and by her side justice holds a sword and scales. A shield 
ornamented at the side with fruit indigenous to Mexico, bears in raised silver let- 
ters the inscription : , ' Presented by the Mexican British Convention Bondhold- 
ers to LoFTUS Charles Otway, Esq., C. B., Her Majesty's Minister Plenipo- 
tentiary in Mexico, as a token of respect and gratitude for his able support of 
their rights.' This beautiful candelabrum has been executed by Messrs. Hunt 
& RosKELL, No. 156 New-Bond street." 

This is a new way for British capitalists to testify their love 
for one of their official representatives abroad, who was so 
active and efficient in bringing ruin upon their pecuniary in- 
terests. We have to add, in addition to the above, that the 
English government rewarded their late minister with diplo- 
matic promotion on the continent. 

The policy that England has pursued toward Mexico is in- 
explicable, except in the fact that a few interested individ- 
uals, official and private, control the action of the English 
government, and public opiniin in England, on Mexican 
affairs, to the total destruction of the general and legitimate 



112 

English interests in that country. We can hardly expect any 
very sudden or material change in the policy of England to- 
ward Mexico. It is said that an English fleet will soon appear 
in the waters of the Gulf, in order to enforce redress of what 
England terms grievances. What attitude she will assume to- 
ward the victorious constitutional government of Mexico, re- 
mains to be seen. 

We note the following in the money article of the London 
Economist, Dec. 22d, 1860: 

" Mexican bonds have been in rather greater demand to-day, because it is re- 
garded as impossible that the British government can, with any regard to its 
own dignity, suffer such an outrao»e to be perpetrated with impunity, as the 
forcibly breaking open, by order of the government (if the faction in possession 
of the city of Mexico can be called a government), of the chest containing 
$1,000,000 belonging to the bondholders, which was deposited for safety with 
the British minister, and on which he had fixed his seal." 

^^OutrageT says the Economist. If England should give 
Mexico a clean receipt in full of all demands, it would scarcely 
compensate for the outrages she has committed against Mexico 
during the' past three years. The robberj^ by Mieamon" of the 
$1,000,000 belonging to English bondholders, is not more dis- 
graceful than the action of the British government in robbing 
the treasury of the constitutional government on the Pacific 
coast, by means of British ships-of-war, whose principal mis- 
sion in that quarter appears to be to facilitate and enforce the 
contraband trade. 

The recent diplomatic action of France and Spain in Mexico 
has been scarcely less disastrous to the latter country than has 
that of England. We are inclined to believe that this ruinous 
policy of European Powers in Mexico, except Spain, has, in the 
main, been based on false information from sources deemed re- 
liable. We conceive this to be the case, more particularly with 
France ; for, considering the independent position in which she 
stands relative to the Mexican republic, it is difiicult to imagine 
what interest the practical and enlightened statesman who ad- 
ministers the government of the French empire with so much 
wisdom and success, can have in supporting a policy in Mexico 



173 

totally opposed to that whicli he so powerfully sustains in 
Italy. 

It cannot be said, however, that the present attitude of the 
European Powers toward Mexico is favorable to the existence 
of Mexican nationality. But we consider this attitude of the 
European Powers less hazardous to Mexican nationality than 
the position our own country appears to be assuming toward 
the neighboring republic, in consequence of the disastrous po- 
litical events that have recently occurred within its own bor- 
ders. The indications are that the North and South intend to 
continue the struggle over the hypothetical negro in Mexico — 
to re-enact the bloody Kansas sham on a large scale on our 
southern borders. In view of what crazy fanatics and unprin- 
cipled politicians have already accomplished, who can say that 
they will not be successful in this their last grand scheme ? 
We shall follow up this subject in the next number of the 
Mexican Papers. 



VICTOKY ! 

We have the extreme satisfaction of announcing in the 
present number of the Mexican Papees, the complete and 
glorious triumph of the liberals in Mexico. Our advices dated 
city of Mexico, Dec. 28, 1860, state that the decisive action 
between the liberal forces under General Gonzales Oetega, 
and the church army commanded by Miramon, the former 
numbering 12,000 men with 80 pieces of artillery, the latter 
8,000 men with 40 pieces of artillery, took place on the 22d 
of December, 1860, on the heights of San Miguel Calpulalpan. 
The battle, which was very bloody, lasted three hours. Mie- 
amon was completely routed, and, with his generals, fled to the 
city of Mexico, escaping only with their lives by means of the 
fleetness of their horses. The liberals captured 4,000 prisoners, 
all the artillery, and the baggage of the enemy. 

Great confusion existed in the city of Mexico on the arrival 



174 

of the defeated Miration and liis officers. A part of tlie clmrcli 
army remaiuiug in the capital wished to defend it to the last, 
but as they numbered but 2,500 men, and the enemy, some 
12,000 strong, being close at hand, they demanded that a capit- 
ulation should be entered into, if the liberals would grant them 
theu' lives. This proposition met with favor, and at the re- 
Cjuest of MrRA:M0N, the Spanish and French ministers, with 
General Berriozabel and General Ayestaran left in the after- 
noon to meet General Ortega, and negotiate with him relative 
to the capitulation of the capital. 

Mr. La Eeintrie, the American cliarge cVaffaires^ was also 
invited to accompany them, but ]\Ir. La Eeintrie, to his honor 
let it be said, refused to have any thing to do with the matter 
of makino; terms for a murderous band of villains who have 
been plundering the country and butchering the people for the 
past three years. 

The commissioners reached Tepeje del Rio^ where General 
Ortega was quartered, about midnight. To their proposition 
for a capitulation, etc., Ortega replied that he should enter 
into no arrangement wdth the hostile party, and they must sur- 
render unconditionally ov fight it out. When the commissioner 
brought back this determined and energetic reply, the con- 
sternation of MiRAMON and his adherents was excessive. Mad- 
dened by their defeat and wdld with fear, this ^vi'etched band 
of outlaws, attended by about a thousand men, made hasty 
preparations for flight. On departing from the city they 
robbed wherever they could lay their hands on any thing of 
value. They took what remained of the English bondholders' 
money, some $150,000, each robber going in pell-mell to grab 
the largest share, and after seizing all they could conveniently, 
the party fled in great confusion to parts unknown. 

Thus fell ]\Iira:mox, the vaunted liero and the best-beloved 
son of the Mexican church — he whom the English and French 
have sustained and eulogized as " a descendant of tw^o of the 
finest races in Europe — a general and statesman of noble and 
brilliant qualities." How ungrateful in Miramon to rob his 
friends, the English, of their last dollar in Mexico ! 

The defeated party left the city on the evening of the 24th, 



175 

and the next day it was occupied by the liberal army, to the 
intense joy of the people, always excepting the ecclesiastics. 
Bells were runo; all dav, and in the evening: there was a nni- 
versal illumination. 

General Oetega immediately issued decrees relating to pub- 
lic order and the security of property. 

The first decree was that any one caught in the act of steal- 
ing should be immediately executed, in consequence of which, 
the next day, two soldiers and three hjperos taken in the act, 
were hung in the public Plaza. This decided, severe treatment 
had the desired effect, and the city was at once orderly and 
secure. 

The clergy endeavored to instigate opposition to the new 
order of things, and kept the doors of the churches closed. 
But finding no one paid any particular attention t-o their do- 
ings, they finally sent a deputation to Greneral Oetega to in- 
quire if he wished the churches opened. Oetega coolly replied 
that it was a matter of indifference to him — ^they could consult 
their own interest in that respect. 

The victorious general immediately recjuested President 
JuAEEz and his cabinet to remove from Vera Cruz to the capi 
tal and assume the reins of government. 

Thus the cause of Mexican freedom has triumphed, untram- 
melled by any compromise with bigotry and despotism. This 
glorious end has been attained without disorder, without ven- 
geance, and ^vithout crime. After three hundred and forty 
years of civil and religious oppression, a denounced and de- 
spised race is disenthralled. A nation lias- heen horn to Liherty ! 

This omnipotent fact ^vill teach a salutary lesson to those 
who, in this countiy particidarly, have raised their infidel voice 
in opposition to the manifest designs of the Almighty ! 



All Commnnications for the MEXICAN PAPERS, must 

^e addressed to 

EDWARD E. DUNBAK, 

No. 35 William Street, N. Y. 

I No. 5, to be issued February 15th, 1861, will close the 
Lt series of the MEXICAN PAPERS. The five numbers 
will then be published together, in book form. 



:X?© 



(^ 



^W^ 



§N First Series, No, 5.] APRIL, 1861. [Price 50 cents. 




THE 



MEXICAN PAPERS, 



.<-^^^^^P\ 



CONTAINING THE 



'■ J.:^ HISTORY OF THE 

RISE AND DECLINE 

OP 

COMMEECIAL SLAVEEY 



AMERICA. 



WITH REFERENCE TO THE FUTURE OF MEXICO. 



BT 



EDWARD E. DUNBAR. 




NEW YORK: 
RUDD & CARLETON, 130 GRAND STREET, 

MDCCCLXr. 



z^^ 




CONTENTS 



MEXICAN PAPERS, NO, V. 



PAG- 

Editorial Note l*?' 

Rise and Decline of Commercial Slavery in America 181 

Origin of Slavery 181 

Mosaic Law of Slavery 182 

The New Era of Slavery — its Commercial Character 184 

Discovery of the West Coast of Africa by the Portuguese, 1471 184 

First Negro Slaves taken to Portugal 185 

Prince Henry's desire to save Negro Souls 185 

The Introduction and Progress of Commercial Slavery in America 186 

Discovery of the New World by Columbus, 1492 186 

Destruction of the Natives in the West India Islands 18Y 

The Mainland ravaged by the Spaniards for Indian Slaves to supply the West Indies. 187 
The Conversion of the Indians the Foundation of the Conquest — according to Ferdi- 
nand 188 

Rapid and unique method by which the heathen Indians were converted by the Con- 
querors 188 

Noble efforts of Las Casas and his confreres to befriend the Indians 188 

First Importation of Negro Slaves into Hispaniola 189 

First Grant to import Slaves into Spanish Colonies given to De Bresa, 1517 190 

The action of Las Casas in this matter 190 

Increase in the Importation of Slaves 191 

First Importation of Negro Slaves into Mexico 192 

Commencement of Slavery in Brazil, 1530 192 

Commencement of Slavery in Paraguy and Beunos Ayres 19S 

Universal extension of Slavery, 1550 193 

The English enter upon the Slave-trade, 1562 194 

Queen Elizabeth knights the Pioneer in this Trade, and makes him Treasurer of her 

Navy 194 

First Sale of Negro Slaves in Virginia , ] 95 

Puritans commence the Slave-trade, 1646 195 

Slavery established in several of the West India islands by the English, French, and 

Dutch * 195 

Louis XIII. establishes Slavery in all the French Colonies by Royal Edict 195 

Charles II. of England grants a Monopoly of the Slave-trade, 1662 196 

The French " Senegal Company " 196 

The Spanish Asiento Contract 196 



u 

PAOB 

The English obtain the Asiento Contract to supply the Spanish Colonies with Slaves, 

1713 197 

The Yellow Fever carried to Vera Cruz, Mexico, by an English ship loaded with 

Slaves 198 

The English House of Commons sustain the Slave-trade by Resolutions and Appropri- 
ations 198 

Extent of the English Slave-trade 198 

The English Government refuses to listen to the Protest of the American Colonies 

ag!iinst the Slave-trade 198 

OflBcial account of the Extent of the Slave-trade 199 

CCLMIXATING PERIOD OF COMMERCIAL SLAVERY IN AMERICA 199 

Number of Slaves in America, 1790 201 

Status of Slavery in America, 1790 202 

Declaration of Independence 202 

The Romance of the Declaration, and the Reality of the Constitution 203 

Remarks on the Constitution 204 

Treaties recognizing Slaves as Property 205 

Purchase of Slave Territory by the Fathers 206 

The Constitution behind the Age 207 

Curious views of Henry VIII. on Slavery 209 

Difficulties under which the Framers of the Constitution labored 209 

Decline of Commercial Slavery in America 

Philosophical Remarks 211 

Initiatory Measures of Abolition in Rhode Island 212 

Abohtion of Slavery in Massachusetts 213 

Initiatory Measures of Abolition in Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Maryland, 211 

New York, New Jersey, and North Carolina 214 

Abolition of Slavery in New Hampshire 214 

Constitutional Slave trade, its Abolition by the United States, 1808 215 

Who imported the Slaves 215 

Ordinance prohibiting Slavery in Northwest Territory 216 

Abolition of Slavery in New Yoi-k 217 

do do in New Jersey 218 

Abolition of the Slave trade by Denmark 218 

do do by England 219 

do do by France 219 

do do by Spain and Portugal 219 

Release of 7,000,000 Indian Slaves on the Continent of America 220 

Abolition of Slavery in Mexico 221 

Voluntary Emancipation of Slaves in Mexico 223 

Free Negro Labor in Mexico 224 

Negro Slavery cannot be extended over Mexico 226 

History of Indian Slavery in Mexico and the Spanish American countries generally. . . 227 

Las Casas' estimate of the Destruction of the Natives of America by the Spaniards 232 

The Romance and the reahty of Mexico, as witnessed in President Juarez 233 

Mexican Peonage 234 

Abolition of Slavery in Yucatan 284 

do do in Guatemala and the Central American States 234 

do do in New Grenada 235 

do do in Venezuela 236 

do do in Peru 237 



Ill 

PAGE 

Abolition of Slavery in Chili 238 

do do in La Plata _ 238 

Slavery in Brazil — its Decline 239 

Total Importation of Negro Slaves into Brazil 240 

Abolition of Slavery in Guiana 243 

Slavery in Canada 243 

Decline of Slavery in the West India Islands 247 

British West Indies — Abolition by England 247 

Article from the London Times 248 

English Motives of Abolition 252 

Jacobin Motives of Abolition in France, 1794 253 

Abolition of Slavery in the French West Indies and other French colonies by 

• France 254 

Number of Slaves liberated by France 255 

Abolition in the Danish Islands by Denmark 255 

Abolition in the Swedish island of St. Bartholomew by Sweden 255 

Fall of Slavery in St. Domingo 256 

Spanish Islands — Cuba 256 

Porto Rico ; 257 

Decline of Commercial Slavery in the United States of North America 258 

Number of Slaves liberated by England 247 

Statistical Account of the gain of Free over Slave Territory 259 

Gain of Free over Slave Population 260 

Facts from the Helper Book 261 

Rise of Abolition — its hindrance to Emancipation 262 

Decline of Slavery in Maryland 262 

do do in Delaware 262 

do do in Virginia 262 

do do in Missouri 263 

Slavery in only one corner of Texas 263 

Reason of the creation of the Republican Party 263 

Venom Distilleries 264- 

Infidel Notions of the " Irrepressible Conflict " Leaders 264 

Livid Abolition triumphant 264 

Where is our Country ? 265 

General Recapitulation 265 

Grand Results 268 

Number of Slaves imported into America from 1500 to 1850 270 

Conclusion 271 

The Kansas Struggle 273 

Our Politics 274 

The Union dissolved on a False Assumption 276 

The dark Future 278 

No Hope until Abolition is put down 279 

Necessity for a White Republican Party 279 



Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1S61, 

Br EDWARD E. DUNBAR, 

In the Clei'k's Office of the District Court of the United States for the 
Soutliern District of Now York. 



177 



EDITORIAL NOTE. 

Our experience in the publication of the Mexican Papers 
has been eminently instructive. In Mexico, the numbers 
already issued have been translated into Spanish, and they 
appear to meet w^ith much favor there. 

The following is an extract from a letter written by a pro- 
minent Mexican residing in Vera Cruz, to a gentleman in 
this city, relative to the publication : 

" Mr. Dunbar's writings on the affairs of Mexico are certainly the ablest that 
have appeared, and they are highly valued here. The Mexican Papers reveal 
some startling points even to our own people, and this is an example how au 
intelligent foreigner can sometimes tell a people important truths which they do 
not learn among themselves. 

" The representation Mr. Dunbar makes of existmg erroneous public opinion 
abroad on Mexico, his vivid picture of the evil rule of the priesthood, and his 
clear and fixed convictions that Mexico never will be appreciated abroad or 
have peace and prosperity at home until the power of that priesthood is com- 
pletely destroyed, are all living truths which come home to us here, and which 
must be followed up and acted upon by the whole nation, with no thought of 
compromise or grounding arms until this end is gained." 

In this country we discover that the facts and sentiments 
contained in the Mexican Papers are entirely opposed to 
favorite theories, pre-conceived opinions, and deep-rooted 
prejudices respecting the great questions of which they treat. 
We also discover that the publication does not pander to the 
wild political delusion of the masses — a delusion that has 
caused 30,000,000 of people to stand up before the world, 
and in the height of their material and political prosperity, 
deliberately commit national suicide. 

But we have evidence that the Mexican Papers are excit- 
ing much thought, and we take great encouragement in the 
fact that a goodly number of "men of mind," into whose 
hands the publication has fallen, are enthusiastic in its sup- 
port ; and it is anything but discouraging to meet with con- 



178 

siderable ill will of a bilious cast, and of that peculiar bigoted 
and despotic character which, if it had the power, would 
crush out everything opposed to its own narrow views and 
sentiments. This has been evinced principally by those who, 
while opposed to freedom in Mexico, pretend to live in that 
fear of slavery in this country which the "irrepressible con- 
flict " doctrine inculcates. 

We have been taken roundly to task by friends and 
acquaintances — some of whom, doubtless, have our good at 
heart — for espousing the cause of the Liberals of Mexico, 
whom they characterize as bands of murdering, plundering, 
half-civilized Indians ; and for running the Mexican question 
into American politics, by which we were led to come out in 
opposition to the republican view of the status of slavery, and 
to foreshadow trouble to the country in the event of the elec- 
tion of Mr. Lincoln as President. 

Now, we may be permitted to ask, How stands Mexico ? 
The factious church government in the capital has most 
ignominiously fallen; the liberal, constitutional government in 
glorious and orderly triumph occupies its place, and tran- 
quillity is beginning to prevail. How stands our country — 
that effulgent galaxy of sovereign States, which, but a few 
short months ago, shone so resplendent in the political firma- 
ment ? Lost ! Lost ! ! Torn from their high estate and 
hurled into eternal darkness by the Demon of Discord. The 
light of constitutional liberty fades in the land of Washington 
and dawns in the mystic realms of the Aztec. 

Having obtained, by personal observation and experience, 
what we believe to be a correct insight into the Mexican 
question, and its important bearing upon the politics of the 
United States, w^e could not remain quiet and see the deliber- 
ately fabricated statements and falsifications of truth, seized 
upon by our politicians, and used in such a way as to mangle 
and torture the whole subject to the ruin of the country. 
Seeing clearly, as we conceived, the right and the wrong in 
this matter, and impressed to a painful degree that the wrong 
was being pursued, we gave vent to our statements in strong 



179 

and unequivocal language, and now, though the progress of 
events day by day convinces us that our position is correct, 
we stand awe-struck at the magnitude of the revolutionary 
drama now passing before us, and we feel more incompetent 
than ever to grapple with those questions of surpassing 
import to mankind, which are involved in the recent stupen- 
dous political developments in the northern portion of this 
continent. But we are constrained to continue to contribute 
our mite of information, in the sincere hope that it may be 
productive, in some degree, of public good. 

The following is an extract from a letter we received from 
a distinguished and highly respected source, dated Washing- 
ton, Jan. 20th, 1861 : 

" In Number 4, you do not speak of our Federal Constitution as a ' compact with 
hell,' but you say, ' our fundamental written law is, in one resiDect, against the 
operation of the common law of nations and of society, and under the pretence of 
remedying the great national evil that has grown out of that error in our 
written fundamental law, we do a still greater wrong in this more enlightened 
age by deliberately ignoring the operation of the common laws of natui-e and 
society, and force an unnatural result which brings dissolution, disorder, and 
internecine wars, terminating at last in national ruin.' 

" These remarks have opened up a new train of thought in my mind, but I 
do not arrive at the clear comprehension of the matter which you, doubtless, 
entertain. Will you explain ? The general tenor of your pamphlets is tho- 
roughly condemnatory of the abolitionist proper, and you show no favor to 
either of the great political parties of the day. It is evident that you are 
strongly opposed to slavery, and yet you repudiate the Republican platform. 
You consider the Constitution defective, and yet you appear to be a strong 
Union man under its provisions. If it is not asking too much, I would like to 
know what party you sympathized with at the last Presidential election, and 
what line of pohcy you advocate in the great crisis now upon the country. 

^' The great amount of new and valuable information you have given on 
Mexican matters, has excited my interest to know what you have in reserve 
relative to some of the corollary political points not fully explained, if it is not 
too foreign to the main subject." 

It is utterly impossible to do justice to the topics under 
discussion in the limited pages of this series of papers. 
Upon some points we have spoken fully and decidedl}^, 
while others, which our correspondent terms " corollary 



180 

political points," have been brought forward without explana- 
tion. We can also comprehend that those who read the 
Mexican Papers are puzzled to know where to place us 
politically, as political matters go in these days. Our 
position is isolated, we confess, but if there is any one source 
of €omfort open to us in the midst of prevailing anxiety, 
doubt and depression, it is in the fact that we stand 
aloof from what we term the great political delusion of the 
day, and that we have no claim to the sympathy and support 
of the prevailing political forces which have destroyed the 
prestige, power, and glory of our common country. 

It has been our intention to enlarge somewhat on the 
most important political topics co-relatively brought up in 
the preceding papers, before the close of the series. To 
explain, therefore, to those who feel interested, as well as to 
answer such inquiries as those contained in the letter from 
Washington, we propose to set forth what we term The 
Rise and Decline of Commercial Slavery in America. 
It has also been our intention to touch upon this subject, 
w^ith reference to slavery in Mexico, before the close of the 
first series of the Mexican Papers. But owing to the 
exigencies that have recently risen, requiring all the infor- 
mation on the subject that can be brought forward, we are 
induced to devote more space to this object than was origi- 
nally intended. 

In view of the fact that the politics of the country now 
turn upon the question, Can slavery be carried into Mexico ? 
we consider the following remarks pertinent to this pub- 
lication. 



181 



THE RISE AND DECLINE OF COMMERCIAL SLA- 
VERY m AMERICA. 

ORIGIN OF SLAVERY. 

In ancient days, the nations of the earth were accustomed 
to designate each other under the name and style of heathen. 
This practice has come down to us unimpaired in no very 
great degree. Christian nations classify the Chinese as 
pagans, while the Chinese apply the term, barbaric, to the 
surrounding world. The Christians call the Mohammedans 
barbarians, and the Mohammedans consider Christians no 
better than dogs. The Roman Catholics denounce the Pro- 
testants as heretics, who are something worse than heathen, 
and the Protestants charge the Roman Catholics with being 
heathen- worshippers of a bad Woman in Scarlet. The inha- 
bitants of the United States north, denounce the inhabitants 
of the United States south as barbarians, and the inhabitants 
of the United States south, charge back, that the inhabitants 
of the United States north are the mud-sills of society ; and 
not being able to agree about the matter, they break the 
Federal bonds, separate, and fight. Then, we have the 
Mormons, who act on the belief that they are the newest and 
choicest order of saints, culled from the heathenish world 
around. 

The prejudice and superstition of ancient days, and upon 
which all this peculiar difference of opinion among nations 
and peoples is founded, appear to hold good now. All the 
difference we can discover, is,, some change in the modes and 
forms under which they are exhibited. 

We believe the idea of human slavery originated in that 
old sentiment — old as creation — ''might makes right ^^ — and 
which is practically developed among men under those special 
and elaborate commands, promises, blessings and curses 
found in the sacred books of all the ancient nations. 

Under the Mosaic law, the Jews were made to understand 
that the lands of the heathen and the heathen round about. 



182 

should be given unto them as a possession — an inheritance 
forever. 

We find in Deuteronomy, chapter vi., verses 10 and 11 : 

" 10. Aud it shall be, wbcu tlic Lord thy God shall have brougLt thee into 
the land which he sware uuto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob, 
to give thee great and goodly cities which thou bulkiest not, 

" 11. And houses full of all good things which thou iillcst not, aud wells digged, 
which thou diggcst not, vineyards and olive trees which thou plantest not; 
when thou shalt have eaten aud be full." 

Again, chapter vii., verses 1 and 2: 

" 1. When the Lord thy God shall bring thee unto the land whither thou goest 
to possess it, aud hath cast out many nations before thee, the Hittites, and the 
Girgashites, and the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Perizzites, and the 
Hivites, and the Jebusites, seven nations greater and mightier than thou : 

" 2. And when the Lord thy God shall deliver them before thee; thou shalt 
smite them and utterly destroy them ; thou shalt make no covenant with them, 
nor shew mercy unto them." 

And in Leviticus, chapter xxv., verses 44, 45 and 46 : 

" 44. Both thy bondmen and bondmaids, which thou shalt have, shall be of 
the heathen that are round abont you : of them shall ye buy bondmeft and 
bondmaids. 

" 45. Moreover of the chDdren of the strangers tliat do sojourn among you, of 
them shall ye buy, and of their families that are with you, which they begat in 
your land; and they shall be your possession. 

" 46. And ye shall take them as an inheritance for your children after you, to 
inherit them for a possession ; they shall be your bondmen forever, but over 
your brethren the children of Israel, ye shall hot rule one over the other with 
rigor." 

We behev.e the foregoing verses, selected promiscuously, 
represent clearly and accurately one of the fundamental 
principles of the religious and civil code of the Jews, and, 
so far as we have been able to ascertain, the right to conquer 
and enslave the heathen, or, your enemies, as some have 
interpreted the passages of this nature, is proclaimed in the 
sacred writings of all the ancient nations ; and it is quite 
certain that from time immemorial, nations acting upon the 



183 

principle thus inculcated, have gone forth conquering and 
enslaving. 

Human, slavery is sustained by some as an institution of 
Divine origin, and the Bible is brought forward in evidence. 
It is denounced by others as a sin and a crime, and the Bible 
is given as authority. The Christian Church in the United 
States is widely and bitterly divided on this question. But 
we have not thus brought forward the subject for the purpose 
of remarking upon it from a religious stand-point. We 
simply desire to state what we conceive to be the origin of 
those great moving principles which have led man to enslave 
his fellow man, from the earliest ages to the present day, 
without presuming to remark upon the right or wrong of 
those principles as they were originally enunciated. This 
is a field of discussion we would go a good ways round to 
avoid, rather than enter upon. 

Our personal views of human slavery were distinctly stated 
in the first number of the Mexican Papers. In comino- to 
the conclusion that it is not right for man to own property in 
man, our natural sympathies were guided by that simple rule 
which has as much religion in it as our comprehension can 
master : *• Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men 
should do to you, do you even so to them." If, under this 
rule, involuntary servitude, or that system of human slavery 
which gives man property in man is right, then there is uo 
God, no justice, no reality in anything. 

In entertaining this opinion on the principle of human sla- 
.very, we trust that we shall be allowed to speak of the Fede- 
ral Constitution of the United States in reasonable and just 
terms, without being required to denounce it as a "compact 
with hell," or to stigmatize negro slavery in the South as the 
" sum of all villainies," and our fellow-citizen slave-owners as 
" barbarians, thieves, cut-throats, the vilest of the vile," etc., 
etc. Here is where we part company with the philanthropic 
fanatics and abolitionists of every grade, and in pursuing a 
course directly opposed to these dehrious factions, we have 
never obtained any new light on the subject that has inclined 



184 

us to join the opposite extreme, and sustain the institution of 
slavery as of divine origin, wise, beneficent, and just. Here 
we part company with the Calhoun school. We particularly 
desire to call public attention to this point in the great poli- 
tical highway, where we diverge from the Garrison school and 
from the Calhoun school, for it is the point where, some 
thirty years ago, reason lost her sway, and the people of the 
United States started off on a course of education of a re- 
volutionary nature in its very inception, and which has, at 
last, borne its revolutionary fruit in the disruption of the con- 
federac}', and the ruin of the nation as a unity. Practically, 
the issue between the North and South which is now upon the 
country, has been forced onward to its present ruinous point, 
mainly under the auspices of abolitionism, and as yet, there 
is no evidence of the existence of an intermediate party, based 
on common- sense principles, which can make its voice heard 
amid the general uproar, in opposition the revolutionary 
masses who stand glaring fiercely at each other, and ready 
to deluge the land with blood. 

THE NEW ERA OF SLAVERY. 

It may be said that the discovery of the western coast of 
Africa, in the fifteenth century, by the Portuguese, created a 
new era in human slavery, inasmuch as the slavery resulting 
from Portuguese discoveries was confined to the African 
negro, and had its basis on commerce ; whereas, the ancient 
system of slavery, as practised by European and Asiatio 
nations, originated in national wars, which gave captives pro- 
miscuously among the nations, said captives being treated as 
property under the prevailing law. There are vague accounts 
of Norman discoveries in Africa as enrly as the first part of 
the fourteenth century, but until the middle of the fifteenth 
century, Africa, with the exception of a narrow strip of coun- 
try bordering on the Mediterranean, was, in fact, as much of 
a sealed book to Europe as the American continent. The 
year 1441 found Henry, Prince of Portugal, devoting his 



185 

means and energies to voyages of discovery along the western 
coast of Africa. One of the first voyages made at this time, 
a short distance down the coast, under the command of An- 
tonio G0N9ALVEZ, resulted in the capture of some Azeneghi 
Moors. In 1442 these Moors told Prince Heney that if he 
would send them back to their country, they would return 
negro slaves as a ransom. The prince therefore ordered 
G0N9ALVEZ to take back three Moors and exchange them for 
as many negroes as he could get — the prince, as Barros states, 
insisting as the foundation of the matter, that if G0N9ALVEZ 
should not be able to obtain so many negroes (as had been 
mentioned) in exchange for the three Moors, yet that he 
should take them ; for, whatever number he should get, he 
would gain souls, because they {the negi-oes) might be converted 
to the faith, which could not be managed with the Moors. GoN- 
9ALVEZ returned with ten negroes, which, it would appear, 
w^ere the first that had been seen in Portugal, as they ex- 
cited general wonder. 

The result of these voyages of G0N9ALVEZ was to start other 
and more formidable maritime expeditions down the African 
coast. In 1444, one of these expeditions fitted out at Lagos, 
attacked the islands of Nar and Tider, and captured two 
hundred black slaves, whom they carried back to Portugal 
and distributed, after allowing Prince Henry his royal fifth. 

The Clwaniicle of Azurara gives an account of the distribu- 
tion of these slaves, and from that account we make the 
following extract ; 

" While they were placing in one part the children that saw their parents in 
another, the children sprang up perseveringly and fled to them ; the mothers 
inclosed their children in their arms, and threw themselves with them on the 
ground, receiving wounds with little pity for their own flesh, so that their 
offspring might not be torn from them ! And so, with labor and difficulty, 
they concluded the partition, for, besides the trouble they had with the captives, 
the plain was full of people, as well of the place as of the villages and neigh- 
borhood around, who at that day gave rest to their hands, the mainstay of 
their livelihood, only to see this novelty. And as they looked upon these things, 
some deploring, some reasoning upon them, they made such a riotous noise as 
greatly to disturb those who had the management of the distribution. The 



186 

lufaute was tliere, upoQ a ix>vverful borse, accompanied by bis people, lookbig 
out bis sbare, but as a mau wbo, for bis part, did not care for gain ; for, of tbe 
fortj-sLx souls wbich foil to bis bftb, be speedily made bis eboice, as all his prin- 
cipal riches wen in his ccnlentment, considering with great delight Hue salvation of 
tJiose souls Schick before were lost." 

Tims, favored by special blessings, dispensations and indul- 
gences from the pope, and under the powerful patronage of 
Henry, Prince of Portugal, the African slave trade com- 
menced. The bodies of the heathen were allotted to their 
Christian captors, their souls to God, and thus the account 
with heaven was balanced. 

By slow degrees, the Portuguese prosecuted their discove- 
ries along the African coast until 1493, v/hen the southern- 
most point (the Cape of Good Hope) was doubled by Bartho- 
lomew Diaz. Commercial enterprise kept pace with these 
discoveries, and the Portuguese vessels returned home with 
an assortment of African products, of which slaves, gold 
dust, ivory, skins, etc. formed the principal part. The slaves 
were disposed of principally to grandees and men of wealth 
in Portugal and Spain. Those countries were fully stocked 
with a laboring population, and the introduction of negro 
slave labor, to any great extent, would have been productive 
of distress and revolution. The demand for negro slaves from 
Africa was, therefore, limited, as they only served to vary 
and swell the train of attendants that belonged to the wealth, 
fashion, and grandeur of those days. It was reserved for the 
Kew World to give a new and extended impulse to the African 
slave trade. 

THE INTRODUCTION AND PROGRESS OF COMMERCIAL SLAVERY IN 

AMERICA. 

The discovery of the New World by Columbus, in 1492, 
cast into the shade the maritime enterprise of the Portu- 
guese, which had been prosecuted with great perseverance 
and daring on the western coast of Africa, during the previous 
half century. A new continent rose up before the world's 



187 

narrow vision, and nearly all the nations of Europe prepared 
to avail themselves of this new and grand field of aggrandize- 
ment. Spain, at this time, was the most advanced country 
on the continent of Europe. The Spaniards took the lead in 
the New World, and the first benefits of the discovery and 
the greater extent of territory fell to them. The West India 
islands were first explored and conquered, and, acting on the 
old idea of taking possession of the heathen as an inheritance, 
the natives with which these islands swarmed were at once 
seized upon as slaves and divided out among the colonizing 
Christians in encomiendas and repartimientos. The island of 
St. Domingo was discovered by Columbus on his first voyage, 
1492. The Licentiate Zuazo gives the number of natives at 
that time as 1,130,000. Others estimate it much higher. 
The enumeration by the Governor, Ovando, in 1508, repre- 
sents 70,000 Indians, and when Diego ColUxMBUS assumed the 
government of the island they were reduced to 40,000. In 
1514, Albuquerque, a new repartidor, appointed by Spain, 
arrived to make a repartition of the Indians, and found but 
13,000 remaining. 

Columbus, in his account of the discovery of the island of 
Hispaniola, thus speaks of the aborigines: "They are a 
loving, uncovetous people, so docile in all things, that I assure 
your highnesses I believe in all the world there is not a better 
people or a better country : they love their neighbors as 
themselves, and they have the sweetest and the gentlest way 
of talking in the world, and always with a smile." 

As early as 1530, the principal West India islands, espe- 
cially St. Domingo and Cuba, were so nearly depopulated 
that Indian slaves were brought from the main land to supply 
in part the deficiency. The Pearl Coast, now known as 
Yenezuela, was horribly ravaged by the Spaniards in order 
to obtain these slaves. This supply gave out in a few years. 
In 1537, only one hundred and thirty Indian slaves, native 
and imported, were found in the island of Cuba. In 1550, a 
letter from St. Domingo to the Emperor states : " There is 
scarcely a single native left on the island, and those Indians 



188 

who have been brought- to the island as slaves, the greater 
part have fled into the depths of the country, as the com- 
panionship of the Spaniards is abhorrent to them." 

Ferdinand, in his official dispatches to the West India 
Admiral, dated Seville, June 6, 1511, says : " The conversion 
of the Indians is the principal foundation of the conquest, that 
which 'principally ought to he attended toT It may be said 
that the conversion of the Indians in the West India islands 
was thoroughly accomplished in about twenty-five years from 
the time they were discovered and occupied by the Spaniards, 
as, during this period, the knife, the bullet, bloodhounds 
and horrible oppression, the converting agencies of the 
Christians, had done their perfect work, and scarcely a vestige 
of the happy millions who, but a few years before had inha- 
bited these islands, remained. 

The same system of converting the heathen on the main 
land had already commenced, and the powerful effects of the 
Christianity of the age were visible in the rapid extinction 
of the native races, which, in some localities, was complete. 
A widely extended country like Mexico, and other regions in 
South America escaped total depopulation. 

It cannot be said that the fearful amount of misery and 
death which now, after the lapse of more than three centuries, 
casts a lurid glare over the early course of the Spaniards in 
the New World, attracted no attention at the time, or met 
with no opposition. Certain humane and philanthropic indi- 
viduals belonging to several of the religious orders of the 
day, took a truly humane and noble stand in relation to the 
hideous acts of the conquerors to which they were eye-wit- 
nesses. Among these good men. Las Casas stands pre- 
eminent for his purity of purpose, his self-sacrificing spirit, 
zeal, courage and ability. Some twelve Dominican monks 
residing in Hispaniola were, as a body, thoroughly opposed 
to the cruelties practised upon the Indians by the Spaniards ; 
and one of these monks. Father Antonio Montosino, became 
conspicuous for his bold and active measures tending to a 
more humane policy. But the grand result proved that all 



189 

tlie efforts of these good men — extraordinary in their day — 
availed nothing. Their strength failed, their limbs withered, 
and their voices were hushed in death as one by one they 
disappeared, leaving the evil tide of human affairs to roll over 
the New World with overwhelming volume and power. 

With the early destruction of the aborigines in the West 
India islands and some of the countries on the American con- 
tinent, originally overrun by the Spaniards, an imperative de- 
mand for laborers arose, and thus the way for the importation 
of negro slaves from Africa was opened. 

In 1501, by royal permission, a few negro slaves were im- 
ported into Hispaniola. One of the conditions of this impor- 
tation was, that the negro slaves should be of those born 
among Christians in Spain, that they might aid in converting 
the heathen in the New World. But as these negroes did not 
prove enduring specimens of muscular Christianity, resort 
was had to the pure heathen article in Africa, and a small 
invoice of these was imported into St. Domingo, in 1503. 
The king, in a letter to Ovando, the Governor of St. Do- 
mingo, dated Segovia, Sept. 1505, says : "I will send more 
negro slaves as you request ; I think there may be a hun- 
dred." Some of these negro slaves ran away among the 
natives and caused much mischief. As the natives diminished 
the demand for negro slaves increased, and the importations 
became greater. The royal historiographer, Herrera, states 
that the king informed the Admiral Don Diego Columbus, in 
1510, that he had ordered the officials at Seville to dispatch 
fifty negroes to work the mines in Hispaniola. The follow- 
ing sentence occurs in a letter of the king, dated June, 1511, 
to an officer in the colony named Sampler. " I do not un- 
derstand how so many negroes have died." The 24th of 
October, 1511, the king gave the following order to the offi- 
cials of Seville : " Pay to Pedro de Ledesma, our pilot, that 
which is due to him for the last voyage made at our com- 
mand, to transport negroes to Hispaniola." 

It appears that the exportation of negro slaves to the West 
India islands was at first under the immediate supervision of 



190 

the crown, and the business was somewliat limited up to 
1517, when Charles Y. granted to the governor, De Bresa, 
a Fleming, the monopoly of importing 4,000 negroes into 
the West India islands within the period of eight years. 
Las Casas has been charged by his enemies with being the 
first cause of the importation of negro slaves into the Spanish 
colonies. This is manifest^ unjust. It is true, however, 
that in 1517, Las Casas, inJiis zeal to alleviate the suffer- 
ings of the Indians, and save them from total annihilation 
under the horrid atrocities of the Spaniards, to which he was 
an eye-witness, advised the importation of negro slaves. Las 
Casas speedily repented of his error, and in writing his own 
history subsequently, he says : 

"This advice, that license should be given to bring negro slaves to these 
lands, the Clerigo Casas first gave, not considering the injustice with which the 
Portuguese take them, and make them slaves ; which advice, after he had ap- 
prehended the natm-e of the thing, he would not have given for all he had in 
the world. For he always held that they had been made slaves unjustly and 
tyrannically ; for the same reason holds good of them as of the Indians." 

In 1523, another monopoly grant was given to De Bresa, 
before the first had expired, and the last permitted the im- 
portation of 4,000 negro slaves into the Indies in eight 
years. 

De Bresa sold these grants to a company of Genoese mer- 
chants, and negroes were sold at a very high price, Figueroa, 
writing to the Emperor from St. Domingo, July, 1520, 
says : 

" Xegroes are very much in request ; none have come for about a year. It 
would have been better to have given De Bresa the customs' duties (i. e. the 
duties that had usually been paid on the importation of slaves), than to have 
placed a prohibition." 

Owing to the continued remonstrances of the colonists by 
reason of the scarcity of slaves, the monopoly granted to De 
Bresa was recalled in 1524, and instead of it, permission was 
granted for the importation of 1,500 negroes to Hispaniola ; 
300 to Cuba ; 500 to Porto Rico ; 300 to Jamaica ; and 500 



191 

to Castilla del Oro, on the main land. De Bresa was com- 
pensated by having assigned to him the customs duties on 
the 1,500 negroes imported into Hispaniola. 

In 1527, 1,000 negroes were allowed to be imported into 
Cuba. In 1528, the king granted to Enrique Ciguer and 
Geronimo Sailler, Germans, the monopoly of importing 
4,000 negro slaves into the Indias, within a certain time. In 
1531, the Bishop of St. Domingo writes to the empress that 
the perpetuity of that island, of Porto Rico and of Cuba con- 
sists in the negroes, and he requests that they should be im- 
ported without license. 

In 1536, the monopoly to import 4,000 negro slaves into the 
Indies within the term of four years, was granted for 26,000 
ducats. In 1542, one of the king^'s chaplains who had traversed 
the island of Hispaniola, informed the Council of the Indies 
that according to his belief there were 25,000 to 30,000 
negroes on the island, and the number of the masters wag 
1,200. We find it stated in the Muiioz collection that in 
1552, license was granted to import 23,000 negro slaves into 
the Indies within the term of seven years at eight ducats per 
head. The number of negroes annually imported into His- 
paniola alone, at this period, was 2,000. 

The granting of licenses to import negroes into the Indies 
and the customs duties arising from the importation, consti- 
tuted the source of an enormous revenue to the crown of 
Spain. A portion of the money accruing from this source 
was employed in building the fortress-palaces of Madrid and 
Toledo. Helps, in his truly valuable work, " The Spanish 
Conquest of America ^''^ says on this point ; 

" Many of the noted buildings of the earth are of most questionable origin ; 
but these two palaces must be allowed to enjoy a remarkable preeminence as 
monuments of folly and oppression. Other buildings have been erected solely 
at the cost of the suffering subjects of great despots, or by prisoners captured 
in Avar ; but the blood-cemented walls of the Alcazar of Madrid might boast of 
being raised upon a complication of suffering hitherto unparalleled in the annals 
of mankind." 

The South American continent was discovered in the year 



192 

1500 by Vincent Yanez Pinzon, a companion of Columbus. 
and in a very few years, slave-hunting and slavery nearly 
desolated all that region of country lying on the Caribbean 
Sea, then known as the Pearl Coast. The conquest of Mexico 
was achieved by Cortez in 1521. The conquest of Peru was 
commenced by Pizzaro in 1524, and completed in 1527. 
The coast of Brazil had been discovered and its unexplored 
territory divided into captaincies by the King of Portugal in 
1530. 

Lerdo de Tejada, in his full and reliable " Apuntos Histo- 
ricos de Vera Cruz,'^ says : 

"III 1535, sixteen years after the conquest, the greater portion of the inha- 
bitants living on the Yera Cruz shore was composed of the Indians who were 
there before the conquest, and negro slaves brought from Africa by the 
Spaniards, as into the other colonies, to perform the severe labor of the field. 
From the union of these two races, the Indian and the negro, came the mestizos, 
known as jarochos, which to this day form a part of the mhabitants of Vera 
Cruz and the neighborhood." 

It is evident, therefore, that under the license to import 
negro slaves into the Spanish colonies, this barbarous traffic 
was commenced in Mexico immediately after the conquest of 
the country by Cortez. 

That vast region known as Brazil fell to the Portuguese. 
The French, Dutch, Spanish and English made occasional 
inroads upon this territory, and at times held possession of 
parts and the whole of the same ; but the Portuguese always 
regained the country, and it remained a dependency of Por- 
tugal until 1822. At the outset, the Portuguese equalled, if 
they did not excel the Spaniards in their cruel treatment of 
the natives, who were at once enslaved on plantations. Negroes 
were preferred, however, as they proved more capable and 
enduring. On the discovery of the mines in the interior, the 
latter part of the seventeenth century, the general destruction 
of the natives commenced. The Portuguese ransacked the 
country from end to end to capture Indians and keep up the 
supply of slaves in the mines. The depopulation of Brazil 
then went on at a fearful rate, and in a few years the natives 



193 

ceased to form an element of any great value in the labor of 
the country. Something more than 2,000,000 of the Brazil 
Indians must have been enslaved and destroyed by the Por- 
tuguese and other European nations, before the middle of 
the eighteenth century. Here then, we have a vast region 
ready to swallow up innumerable cargoes of heathen from 
Africa. Circumstances favored the importation of negro 
slaves into Brazil. The Portuguese were in possession of the 
western coast of Africa, and their arrangements for the com- 
mercial slave trade were complete. Bahia, one of the prin- 
cipal Brazilian ports, was a convenient and favorite resort for 
slave traders, by reason of its nearness to the African coast, 
and the importation of negro slaves into Brazil was co-existent 
with the discovery and occupation of the country by the 
Portuguese. 

Paraguay and Buenos Ayres were discovered by the 
Spaniards in 1516, and while the Portuguese were occupying 
Brazil, the Spaniards were gradually working their way into 
those countries to the south and west, now known as the 
Argentine Confederation. 

It may be said that by the year 1550, the general outline 
of those extended regions on this continent known as 
Spanish America, and the Portuguese possessions in Brazil 
were defined. The aborigines of the West India islands had 
been totally destroyed and their places filled by negro 
slaves imported from Africa. Immense numbers of the 
Mexican people were disappearing under the iron rule of the 
Spaniard. South America, divided between the Spaniards 
and Portuguese, with an occasional inroad by some other 
European nation, had been entirely depopulated in certain 
sections, and the work of human sacrifice was rapidly pro- 
gressing throughout the entire length and breadth of the land. 
In proportion as the natives disappeared, the demand for 
negro slaves increased, and we thus find that in the middle 
of the sixteenth century the great commercial slave trade on 
this continent and the West Indies, with the exception of that 
portion of North America not then settled, was fully estab- 



194 

lished. "With the "West India islands the trade was very brisk, 
as they depended entirely on this source for labor. With 
Mexico, the trade was active only with certain limited sec- 
tions. "With Brazil it was just commencing on a grand scale, 
and with other portions of South America the traffic was 
gradually finding its way to every part. 

This immense trade in human flesh — immense in amount, 
and immense in the profit it yielded — was at first monopo- 
lized by the Spaniards and Portuguese. By sure and not 
very slow degrees, other European nations encroached upon 
this monopoly, primarily through companies of their respec- 
tive citizens, carrying on a contraband trade, and finally, 
whatever of monopoly remained was transferred from one 
nation to another by grants protected by treaty. 

The Dutch smuggled considerable numbers of negro slaves 
into the "West India islands and Brazil before the close of the 
sixteenth century. 

One John Hawkins was the first Englishman who entered 
upon the African slave trade. In the year 1562, Hawkins 
went to the coast'of Africa with three vessels, the Solomon, 
of 120 tons, the Swallow of 100 tons, and the Jonas, of 40 
tons. These vessels obtained 300 negroes on the coast of 
Africa, partly by capture, and partly by purchase, and took 
them to Hispaniola, where they were sold to good advantage, 
and Hawkins returned to England. Another successful ex- 
pedition was made and the English considered the African 
slave trade fairly open to them. Queen Elizabeth knighted 
Hawkins, and made him treasurer of the navy. The queen 
also chartered a company to carry on the trade. Thus Protes- 
tant Elizabeth vied with Catholic Europe in favoring the 
African slave trade, by which the descendants of Ham should be 
snatched from heathenism, as brands plucked from the burn- 
ing, and transported to lands where the light of Christianity 
would penetrate their benighted souls. 

In 1618, King James I. granted a slave trading charter to 
Sir Robert Rich. 

The first Enghsh colony was planted in Yirghiia 160Y, and 



195 

the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth 1621. In August, 1619, a 
Dutch man-of-war visited Jamestown, Yirginia, having on 
board negro slaves, of which they sold nineteen to the settlers. 
These were the first negro slaves imported into the English 
colonies. In 1670, according to Gov. Berkley's statistics, 
there were 2,000 negro slaves in the Virginia colony. Be- 
tween the years 1630 and r640, when there was no Parlia- 
ment in England, the Dutch carried on a lucrative commerce 
with the English- American plantations, and it is quite pro- 
bable that the importation of negro slaves formed one branch 
of this profitable commerce. The Puritans commenced the 
African slave trade in 1646. Their first slave trader was 
fitted out and sailed for the coast of Africa, from Boston, 
in that year. 

The island of Nevis, held by the English, contained, in 
1628, 8,000 negro slaves, employed in the culture of sugar. 

The island of St. Christopher in the Caribbean Sea had been 
settled by the English and French in 1624, and in 1635 it 
was well supplied with negro slaves. 

The island of Montserrat was settled by the English under- 
Sir Thomas Warren, Governor of St. Christopher, in 1632, 
and in 1658 it contained 10,000 negro slaves. 

The French from the island of St. Christopher settled the 
island of Martinique in 1635, and in 1658 it contained 10,000 
negro slaves. Guadaloupe was settled and stocked with 
negroes by the French the same year. 

Slavery was established in all the French colonies in 
America by royal edicts during the reign of Louis XIII. 

The Dutch took possession of the small island of St. 
Eustatia in the Caribbean Sea 1632. and it was chiefly used 
by them for its commodious position, from which a contra- 
band trade could be carried on with the neighboring Euro- 
pean colonies. 15,000 negro slaves were on this island in 
1658. 

In 1637, some of the Dutch West India companies' ships 
captured the Guinea coast castle of Si. George del Mlria, the 
principal fort of the Portuguese on the African coast, and 



196 

were thus supj^lied first haiid with negroes tor cariying 
on their sugar plantations, which thej then held in Brazil, 
and supplying the trade with slaves. 

In 1G57, the Dutch occupied the small and barren West 
India island of Curapoa for the sole purpose of doing a con- 
traband business in negro slaves and European merchandise, 
with the Spanish colonies. 

In 1662, Charles II. granted a monopoly, authorizing a 
company to export 3,000 negro slaves per annum to his 
American colonies. This was a most valuable privilege, and 
it came out under the immediate auspices of the Queen 
Dowager and the Duke of York. 

This monopoly became odious, and in 1695 it was resolved 
by the Commons of England in Committee of the Whol^:', 
" that for the better supply of the plantations, all the sub- 
jects of Great Britain should have liberty to trade in Afiica 
for negroes, with such limits as should be prescribed by Par- 
liament." 

Some Frenchmen had for many years — since 1635 it is 
said — maintained an establishment on the Senegal River in 
Africa, under the name of the " Senegal Company." and in 
1685, says Macpherson, in his " Annals of Commerce," the 
king of France, observing that the great extent of the limits 
of the Senegal Company (no less than about 1,500 leagues of 
the coast of Africa) excluded all his other subjects from 
trading in negro slaves, for the use of the West India colonies, 
now established a New Guinea company with exclusive right 
for twenty years to trade in negroes, gold dust, etc., between 
the river Sierra Leone and the Cape of Good Hope ; the 
balance of the coast being reserved to the Senegal Company. 

In 1696, the Portuguese, having emerged from the rule of 
Spain, contracted to furnish the Spanish colonies with 25,000 
negro slaves in five years. This was the foundation of the 
famous asiento contract which figures so largely in English 
history. The contract was fulfilled by the Portuguese, the 
king taking part in it and advancing two-thirds of the funds 
necessary to carry it out. Just as this contract with the 



197 

Portuguese expired, 1701, the French gave a king, Philip 
v., to Spain, who transferred the slave trade monopoly to his 
countrymen, this being considered the greatest favor he could 
legally grant to them. 

The asiento contract papers passed into the hands of the 
English by the treaty of Utrecht, 1713, and subsequently, in 
May of that year, Great Britain obtained from Spain an 
entirely new contract, by which the South Sea company 
engaged to dehver to the Spanish colonies, 4,800 negro 
slaves yearly for thirty years. This occasioned great rejoic- 
ing in England, so valuable was the contract considered. The 
English were not limited to the number stipulated per annum, 
except during the five last years of the contract. For twenty- 
five years they imported all they could sell. They agreed to 
pay £7 10s. for each of the first 4,000 negroes ; the other 
eight hundred were freed from this tribute in consideration 
of £45,000 advanced to the court of Madrid, to be reimbursed 
in the course of ten years. This tribute was reduced to half 
for all the slaves that were not required by the contract. 
Philip Y. indemnified him.self for this sacrifice by reserving 
the fourth part of the profits made by the company. 

Infringements on this contract and restrictions by Spam, 
formed at one time, one of the principal causes of war with 
Spain. The peace of 1748 restored to England all their rights 
in the asiento contract, but the Company was induced to give 
up the short period that remained of the contract for an 
indemnity. Robert Mayne, a London merchant, succeeded 
to the association under a Spanish name, but not meetino- 
with great success, the resolution was taken in 1752 to receive 
negro slaves on the island of Porto Rico, a duty of £9 to be 
paid to government on each slave. In 1773 Spain renewed 
the charter with a company of Spanish, French and Genoese 
merchants, doing business in Cadiz. The tax was diminished 
and other advantages granted by which the slave trade 
acquired fresh activity and became more extended. 

It is mentioned in the writings of Padre Alegre that the 
black vomit, or yellow fever, from which Vera Cruz, in Mexico, 



198 

suffers so much, was first brouglit to that place by an Ecglish 
ship loaded with negroes, in 1699. 

In 1698, the English contraband slave traders had virtually 
broken up the Royal African Compan}' monopoly in Guinea, and 
other parts of the African coast, and this year the English Par- 
liament passed an act relieving the Royal African Company 
from the expense of sustaining the forts, castles, etc., necessary 
to protect the slave trade, by imposing a duty of ten per cent, 
on all merchandise imported into Africa, and ten per cent, on 
all merchandise exported from Africa, negroes excepted. This 
trade, which had been virtually open, was now made legally so. 

In 1708 the English House of Commons resolved, "That 
the slave trade was important, and ought to be open to all 
the queen's subjects trading from Great Britain ;" and the act 
of 23d George II. declares : 

" The slave ti'ade to be very advantageous to Great Britain, and necessary 
for suppljiug the plantations and colonies thereunto belonging, with a sufficient 
number of negroes at a reasonable rate." 

In 1730, the English parliament granted £10,000 per 
annum, till 1746, to sustain the forts, factories, etc., on the 
coast of Africa, that the slave trade might be protected and 
carried on successfully. 

At this time the English supplied their North American 
colonies, from Massachusetts Bay to Florida, with negro 
slaves. They held the monopoly of supplying the Spanish 
colonies with the same article. They maintained slave fac- 
tories at Vera Cruz, Panama, Porto Bello, Carthagena, 
Buenos Ayres, and subsequently in Brazil, and in contract 
with Portugal to furnish that dependency with negro slaves. 

When some of the American colonies protested to the 
mother country against the importation of negro slaves within 
their limits, the English government, as late as 1775, just as 
the American Revolution commenced, thus replied to these 
protests : 

" We cannot allow the Colonies to check or discourage in any degree a traffic so 
beneficial to the nation." 



199 

Bryan Edwards, the best English authority we can quote 
on the subject, says : 

" The British slave trade had attained its highest pitch of prosperity a short 
time'before the commencement of the American War." 

In 1771, the Enghsh exported from Africa in 192 ships, 
47,146 negro slaves. This is the official account. 

In 1787, the merchants of Liverpool transmitted to the 
Lords of the Privy Council, the following account of the 
number of slaves exported from Africa that year by the dif- 
ferent European nations. 

British, . . . 38,000 

French, 20,000 

Dutch, . 4,000 

Danes, ' . . . . 2,000 

Portuguese, 10,000 

74,000 

It is a well-known fact that the contraband ti'ade in negro 
slaves averaged more than the legalized trade. 

The whole number of factories and forts established on the 
coast of Africa at this time was 40, of which 14 belonged to 
the English, 3 to the French, 15 to the Dutch, 4 to the Por- 
tuguese, and 4 to the Danes. 

CULMINATING PERIOD OF COMMERCIAL SLAYERY 

IN AMERICA. 

Commencing with a few remarks upon the origin of slavery, 
we have given a line of iacts in something like chronological 
order, exhibiting the degrees of advancement made by Chris- 
tian nations in commercial slavery on the Western Continent 
and Islands up to the year 1787. The line of facts given 
might be greatly enlarged and perfected, but we think suffi- 
cient has been stated to prove what we proposed to prove in 
the first place, namely, that the new era of commercial sla- 
very reached its culminating period throughout the American 
continent and the West Indian islands, the latter part of the 
eighteenth centurj^ 



200 

At this period, we find the continent and islands occupied 
by the following nationalities : 

England held possession of the northern portion of North 
America, with the geographical division of Canada; a portion 
of Guiana, and the West India islands of Jamaica, Barbadoes, 
Bermudas, Bahamas, Grenada, St. Vincent, Dominica, Anti- 
gua, Montserrat, Ne^^s, St. Christopher, and most of the 
Virgin Isles. 

The thirteen United States occupied the central portion of 
North America. 

The extensive American possessions of Spain were divided 
into four vice-royalties, namely, Mexico, Peru, La Plata and 
New Granada : and five captain-generalships, namely, 
Yucatan, Guatemala, Chili, Venezuela, and the islands of 
Cuba and Porto Rico. 

The Portuguese occupied Brazil. 

The French held possession of a portion of Guiana on the 
main land, and the West India islands of St. Domingo, Mar- 
tinique, Guadaloupe, St. Lucia, Tobago, and Cayenne. 

The Danes owned the islands of St. Thomas and St. Croix, 
of the group of Virgin Isles. 

The number of negro slaves in North America and the 
West India islands, at the period at which we are writing, 
can be given with accuracy, but with Mexico, Central and 
South America, it is otherwise, as there are absolutely no very 
reliable statistics in existence relative to this point. We have 
made a careful examination, however, of all the information 
to be obtained on the subject, and we give the result, believ- 
ing it to be an approximation to the truth — rather imder 
than over the actuality. 

It must be borne in mind that when Spain ruled the 
Spanish American countries on this continent, the aborigines 
of those countries were held as slaves.^' Though the Spaniards 
made terrible havoc with the natives, enough appear to have 
survived to meet the necessary requirements of labor in 

* See Mexico, page 22Y. 



201 



Mexico, Central aud South America, so that negro slavery, 
except in several limited districts, never prevailed to any 
great extent in those continental possessions of the Spaniards. 
The following is our estimate of slaves on this continent 
and in the West India islands in 1790 : 



Negro Slaves. Indian Slayes. Total 

United States, . . . 69t,89t 

British West Indies, . . 505,241 

French West Indies, . . 800,000 
Gruiana, .... 50,000 
Spanish jDossessions on the con- 

tii^ent, .... 410,000 • 7,000,000 

Brazil (Portuguese) . . 600,000 



3,003,138 7,000,000 10,063,138 

The supply of negro slaves in those days was kept up by 
direct importation, and not from the natural increase of the 
negroes on the soil. The importation of negro slaves at this 
period consisted principally of male adults, less than one- 
third being women, and very few small children. The great 
mass of the negro slave populatioti was, therefore, an adult 
laboring population, and with the usual proportion of women 
and children, they would have made an exhibit of more than 
6,000,000. 

The average value of a negro slave at this time may be 
stated at $300. The regular rate for good plantation hands 
was £70. 

The use of slave labor was careless and extravagant in the 
extreme, except in certain locahties on the continent. The 
consumption of negro slaves, especially in the West Indies 
and Brazil, was enormous, and yet the result in products was 
comparatively small. 

The importation of negro slaves into America during the 
latter part of the eighteenth century, must have averaged 
something more than 100,000 per annun/, and throughout 
the entire century, it could not have been less than 75,000 
per annum. 



202 

At the commencement of the American Revolution, this 
continent, every foot of it from the frozen Nortli to 
MageUan, was shxve territor3\ The West India islands vi^ere 
all devoted to slavery. By royal edicts, legislative enact- 
ments, and common law, the right of man to own propert}' 
in man was acknowledged and protected in the strongest 
manner possible. All the nations having possessions in the 
Western Ilemisphere, were actively engaged in supplying 
those possessions with slaves. The negro slaves alone, 
nearly equalled the pure whites throughout the conti- 
nent and the islands, and taking into account the Indian 
slaves in Mexico and South America, the bond outnumbered 
the free, in all America (excepting the wild Indians), two 
to one ! 

The entire labor or service of the continent and the islands, 
if we make a slight exception in Canada and the New Eng- 
land colonies, was performed b}^ slaves, and all the exports 
were the products of slave labor. The institution of slavery 
was, therefore, not only national, but continental. The 
moral, legal, territorial, industrial, and commercial status of 
the institution was complete. 

In this, the darkest day of modem slavery, the American 
Declaration of Independence flashed upon the world. This 
Declaration declared the following : 

" We hold these truths to be self-evident ; that all 
men are created equal ; and that they are endowed by 
THEIR Creator with certain inalienable rights ; that 

AMONG THESE ARE LIFE, LIBERTY, AND THE PURSUIT OF HAPPI- 
NESS." 

A line of poetry in a world of prose — a ray of light pene- 
trating -nniversal darkness — the leaven of humanity, justice, 
and freedom in the mass of cruelty, iniquit}^, and despotism 
— an anchor of hope — a sign of the millennium, but a positive 
impossibility, as a whole, intellectually and socially, if not 
politically, so long as men are created as they are. 

This is the light in which we view the Declaration of Inde- 
pendence. It was a superb document on which to base a 



203 

revolution and achieve independence. But eleven years 
afterward, when it became necessary for the fathers to frame 
a constitution adapted to the reaUty of things as they then 
existed, material interests, imperious matter of fact expe- 
diency, required that all the poetry and romance, all the fine 
ideas about equaUty in man and his inahenable rights, con- 
tained in the Declaration upon which the independence of 
the country had been achieved, should be repudiated. Con- 
sequently, a Constitution that recognized the right of man 
to own property in man, and protected him in that right, so 
far as human law can protect him, was framed and adopted. 
Revolting as it is to acknowledge this feature in our Consti- 
tution at the present day, it must be done. A certain race 
of human beings have been bought and sold, and held to 
involuntary labor or service under this Constitution, from the 
day it was framed to the present. The monstrous incon- 
sistency between the Declaration of Independence and a Con- 
stitution that recognized the right of man to hold property 
in man, as well as the anomaly of basing a free republican 
government on the freedom of one race and the slavery of 
another, staggered the fathers, and well-nigh proved an 
insurmountable obstacle to the realization of their patriotic 
hopes at the very outset. We have one evidence of 
this in the care with which the words slave and slavery were 
excluded from the Constitution. 

Article I. of the Constitution, section second, third clatise, 
- says : 

" Representative and direct taxes shall be proportioned among the several 
States which may be included within this Union, according to their respective 
numbers, which shall be determined by adding to the whole number of free 
persons, including those bound to service for a term of years, and excluding 
Indians not taxed, three-Jifths of all other jpersons.'- 

We believe this give^ one representative in the United 
States Congress to every 50,000 slaves ; slavery is, therefore, 
a political element in our government. 

Also, in Article I., section ninth, first clause, we find : 



204 

" The raig-ration or importation of such persons as any of the States now ex- 
isting shall think proper to admit, shall not be prohibited by Congress prior 
to the year 1808, but a tax or duty may be imposed on such importation, not 
exceeding ten dollars for each person." 

The foreign and domestic slave trade is here made consti- 
tutional, irrevocably so until 1808, and as long after as Con- 
gress might allow. The Constitution does not say the migra- 
tion or importation of such persons as any of the States shall 
think proper to admit, shall be prohibited by Congress prior 
to the year 1808, etc., but it says, " shall not he 'prohihited^^'' 
etc. Under this provision the foreign importation of negro 
slaves from Africa was abolished in 1808, by special act of 
Congress, but domestic migration of negro slaves, made con- 
stitutional in the same clause, is suffered to continue to this 
day. The negro slaves imported under the above clause, 
passed through the custom-house and paid a duty of ten 
dollars per head, the same as merchandise, and under the 
Constitution, this business, can be resumed any day Congress 
may permit. 

Article IV., section second, third clause sa3^s : 

" Ko person held to service or labor in one State, under the laws thereof, es- 
caping into another, shall, in consequence of any law or regulation therein, be 
discharged from such service or labor, but shall be delivered up on claim of the 
party to whom such service or labor may be due." 

Thus the property in the slave was secured to the owner, 
and the right of the owner to his property was made perfect. 
This is in direct conflict with the law of the Jews on that sub- 
ject, as we find in the book of Deuteronomy, chapter xxiii., 
verses 15 and 16 : * 

" 15. Thou shalt not deliver unto his master the servant which has escaped 
from his master unto thee : 

" 16. He shall dwell with thee, even among you, in that place which he shall 
choose in one of thy gates, where it liketh him best; thou shalt not oppress 
him." 

It is said that this law referred to slaves who escaped to 
the Jews fromforeig?i coufitries; but if we fall back upon the 



205 

superstitious notions of the Jews relative to slavery, we meet 
with contradictions, and are obliged to follow a zig-zag 
course of argument which fortify us in no very decided manner, 
either for or against the institution. 

The clauses we have quoted from the Constitution are all 
that refer directly to the subject of slavery. There is not one 
word in that instrument which points to the ultimate aboli- 
tion of the institution, or places any limit to its extension. 
On the contrary, it perpetuates the institution and gives 
opportunity for its extension so long as it remains the Consti- 
tution of the country. On this point, and to ascertain how 
the fathers regarded the status of slavery and the negro, let 
us look at the practice of the fathers themselves. 

The following is the language used in those days in certain 
treaties, instruments second in importance only to the Con- 
stitution : 

" PROVISIONAL ARTICLES BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND HIS 

BRITANNIC MAJESTY, 

" Agreed upon by and between Richard Oswald, Esquire the Commisaioner 
of His Britannic Majesty, for treatmg of Peace with the Commissioners of the 
United States of America, in behalf of his said Majesty, on one part, and John 
Adams, Benjamin Frankhn, John Jay and Henry Laurens, four of the Commis- 
sioners of the said States, etc., etc., etc. 

" Article YII. * * * All prisoners on both sides shall be set at liberty, and 
His Britannic Majesty shall, with all convenient speed, and without causing any 
destruction, or carrying away any ' negroes or other property ' of the American 
inhabitants, withdraw all his armies, garrisons and fleets from the said U. S., 
and from every port, place and harbor within the same. * * * 
" Done at Paris, Nov. 30, 1182. 

" Richard Oswald, [l.s.] 
" John Adams, [l.s.] 

" B. Franklin, [l.s.] 

" John Jay, [l.s.] 

" Henry Laurens, [l.s.]" 

" DEFINrTE treaty OF PEACE, BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND HIS 

BRITANNIC MAJESTY. 

" Article VII. * * * And His Britannic Majesty shall, with all convenient 
speed, and without causing any destruction, or carrying away any ' 'mgroes or 



206 

ether property " of the American inhabitants, withdraw all his armies,, etc., etc., 
Q^Q^ * ** * * * * * * * * 

" Done at Paris, Sept. 3, 1783. 



" D. Habtley, 


[L.S.] 


" John Adams, 


[L.S.] 


" B. Franklin, 


[L.S.] 


"John Jay, 


[L.S.]" 



" TREATY OF PEACE AND AMITY, BETWEEN HIS BRITANNIC MA.IESTY AND THE UNITED 

STATES OF AMERICA, 

" [Ratified and confirmed by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, 
Feb. 11, 1815.] 

" Article I. * * * Shall bo restored without delay, and without causing any 
destruction, or carrying away any of the artillery or other public property 
originally captured in the said forts or places, and which shall remain therein 
upon the exchange of the ratifications of this treaty, or any * slopes or otMr 
private property.^ ********* 

" Done, in triphcate, at Ghent, Dec. 24, 1814. 

•■' Gambier, [l.s.] 

" Henry Goulbdrn, [l.s.] 
" William Adams, [l.s.] 

" John Quincy Adams, [l.s.] 
" J. A. Bayard, [l-s.] 

" H. Clay, [l.s.] 

"JoNA. Russell, [l.s.] 

" Albert Gallatin. [l.s.]" 

In 1803, during the administration of Mr. Jefferson, that 
extensive region, then known as the Louisiana Territory, was 
purchased from France. Mr. Jefferson, we believe, con- 
sidered this purchase a violation of the Constitution, but at 
the same time, he considered the political necessity for the 
transaction sufficient to override the Constitution. This is 
one of the instances that demonstrates how utterly worthless 
written national compacts are when expediency requires that 
they should be set aside. In this instance, it was either a 
purchase or a foreign war. By this purchase, an immense 
tract of slave territory was added to the Union. Louisiana 
came in as a slave State in 1812, under the administration of 
Mr. Madison, and two more slave States from this territory, 
Arkansas and Missouri, were admitted subsequently. 

The next purchase of territory was that of Florida, one of 



207 

the Spanish possessions. General Jackson invaded this ter- 
ritory by order of the Government, to chastise the Indians 
who were committing depredations on our ^uthern border ; 
and in 1821, Spain having no other alternative, sold the 
territory to the United States, and it immediately came into 
the Union as slave territory under the administration of Mr. 
Monroe. 

The Constitution protecting slavery and imposing no limit 
to its extension or duration, treaties that required foreign 
nations to give up captive negroes 2.% property ^ and purchases 
of slave territory were the acts of the fathers. Every foot of 
slave territory added to this Union since the adoption of the 
Constitution, except Texas, was brought in by the fathers 
themselves. When, therefore, Republican politicians or stump 
demagogues in the North, who may be puzzle(f to define their 
position, declare : "We are for the Constitution, the Union and 
the laws ! We stand upon the Constitution as it is — as it was 
understood and interpreted by Washington, Jefferson, 
Madison, Monroe, and other of the fathers !" it appears to us 
that they declare for as strong a pro-slavery Constitution as 
ever was framed on earth, for a Union based on slavery, and 
^or laws that protect and perpetuate the institution ; and 
that they go back to days when the right of man to hold pro- 
perty in man was more universally conceded than it is now, 
and when the understanding and practice of the fathers was 
to permit the extension of slavery under the Constitution. 
Much as our desires and feelings incline us to view this mat- 
ter in a different light, our judgment forces us to this conclu- 
sion — the conclusion to which the South has been educated 
under the Constitution and the acts of the fathers, most of 
whom lived and died slave-owners. Under these circum- 
stances, it can scarcely be said that the slave States have 
claimed more than they have a constitutional right to demand. 

" Distance lends enchantment to the view," mentally as 
well as optically. It is doubtless a good custom to cast a 
halo of glory around the great and good of earth who have 
passed away — to remember their better part and bury their 



208 

errors in oblivion. But it is not always safe to regard the 
great dead, who yet have a direct influence on our destiny, as 
infallible. ^ 

It is almost inexplicable how the men of '7G, those who 
brought forth the Declaration of Independence, carried 
through the revolution successfully, and consolidated the 
federal Union, could have based and carried out a democratic 
republican form of government on the political freedom and 
equality of the whites, and the legal slavery of the blacks. 
This sudden descent from the transcendental in liberty and 
equality, down, down into the dark shades of human bondage, 
is scarcely credible in the present day. The South, in the- 
ory and practice, claims this to be the fact, but denies that 
there is any inconsistency in it. The South is undoubtedl}^ 
right as regard? the fact, but wrong in claiming that there is 
no inconsistency. The North, in theory, denies the fact, and 
of course the inconsistency, but in practice, the great conso- 
lidated Republican party of the North has drifted into the 
abolition current and landed upon the abolition platform^ 
which acknowledges the pro-slavery character of the Consti- 
tution, and denounces it as a " covenant with hell," and thus, 
under the shadow of a false theory that will give the color 
of constitutionality to its acts, a great sectional party is cre- 
ated and an aggressive policy against the South, contrary 
to the spirit and letter of the Constitution, is adopted. Here 
this whole matter lies in a nut-shell. 

If all parties would simply flill back upon the truth — the 
reality of things, and acknowledge the fact of the pro-slavery 
character of the Constitution, and that the inconsistency of 
this fact with a Democratic-republican form of government 
had become more and more manifest eveiy year since its 
adoption ; and if all parties would acknowledge the com- 
plete status of slavery as it existed when the Constitution was 
framed, and that in obedience to an overruling Providence, 
the status of the institution, as it then existed, had since 
been growing weaker year by year, the ruinous element of 
discord in our national politics would disappear ! 



209 

' The curious notions about slavery that existed in England 
during the time of Henry VIII., are worthy of being noted 
here. The following is the form of a manumission granted 
to two of his slaves by King Henry in 1514 : 

" Whereas ; originally God created all men free ; but afterwards the laws 
and customs of nations subjected some under the yoke of servitude. We think 
it pious and meritorious with Grod, to make certain persons absolutely free 
from servitude who are under villinage to us. Wherefore, we do accordingly 
manumit and free from the yoke of servitude, Henry Knight, a tailor, and John 
Erie, a husdbandman, our natives {i. e. our slaves), as being born in our manor 
of Stoke Clymmyslande, in our county of Cornwall, together with all their is- 
sue born, or hereafter to be born, and all their goods, chattels, and lands 
already acquired, or hereafter to be acquirexl by them ; so as the said two per- 
sons, with their issue, shall hencefoiftli be deemed by us and our heirs free, 
and of free condition." 

It will not do to judge the fathers of the republic as 
regards the slavery question, from the anti-slavery stand- 
point of the present day. If we would obtain some satisfac- 
tory explanation of their acts, and comprehend the motives 
that actuated them in their political course, we must carry 
ourselves back to the times in which they lived. We must 
remember that those were times in which men's souls were 
tried. The first attempt at self-government had proved a 
failure, under the old Confederation ; jealousies were already 
rife, and conflicting interests were to be harmonized. The 
new form of government proposed was, in many respects, ' 
entirely experimental. The dark pall of slavery was drawn 
over this continent from ocean to ocean,. and from pole to 
pole. The labor of the continent and its islands was slave 
labor. All Europe sustained the system, and had sustained 
it for centuries. Society and the industrial interests of the 
colonies were so entirely based on the system of involuntary 
servitude, that its necessity was, for the time being, abso- 
lutely paramount. That the system of slavery as it then ex- 
isted should have been allowed, for a certain period, the 
importance then given to it, is perfectly easy of compre- 
hension ; and it is evident that no federal Union, no general 



210 

government could have been formed at that period without 
a,cknowledging the system of labor then existing, as an 
industrial necessity for the time being. But in view of those 
principles of liberty and equality upon which independence 
was achieved, and the clear and decided sentiments expressed 
by the early patriots, on the evils of slavery, there is certainly 
some reason to marvel that the founders of the great Ame- 
rican empire did not cause to be inserted in the instrument 
dosisned to serve as the Palladium of our liberties for all 
time, a single clause indicative of their fixed determination, 
that under this instrument human bondage should, sooner 
or later, come to an end throughout the land which it was 
supposed had been gloriously consecrated to human freedom. 
This point of inconsistency is the most disagreeable to touch 
upon, and the most difficult to explain. But we do find some- 
thing like a satisfactory explanation in the undoubted, undeni- 
able fact that the founders of the republic saw signs of decay 
in the system of slave labor ; and having faith in an overruling 
Providence, they believed the economy of nature, in obe- 
dience to the law of progress, would, in due time, bring the 
unfortunate system to an end, and bury it with other false 
notions and superstitions of the past. That the fathers were 
right in this particular, we are fully prepared to demonstrate, 
and in doing this, we must explain wherein they committed 
a serious error, namely, in forming too high an estimate of 
those who should follow in their footsteps. Washington, 
Franklin, Jeffeeson, Adams, Madison, Pinckney, Randolph, 
and others, who pledged their all in the creation of the fede- 
ral Union, from their very nobility of nature, were unable to 
conceive that their glorious labors could be brought to naught 
in less than three-quarters of a century by a band of crazy 
fanatics and a low order of politicians, whose sole claim to 
huitiane principles, patriotism, and statesmanship lies in the 
successful exercise of the most common and the meanest of 
all talent — that of stirring up sectional strife, and causing 
people to hate each other. 



211 



THE DECLINE OF COMMERCIAL SLAVERY IN 

AMERICA. 

The economy of nature is the law of progress, and just in 
proportion as the economy of nature opens the way, society 
advances. The moral tone of every community depends, 
therefore, upon the development of its material interests, 
and all reforms in society are forced onward by expediency 
in its efforts to furnish the masses with the necessaries of life. 
Reform bides its time. 

A Christ appearing in the days of Moses, would either 
have been totally neglected, caged as a lunatic, or stoned to 
death by the rabble, and never heard of beyond those who 
did the deed. 

A Luther appearing in the days of Peter the Hermit, 
would have roamed about unheeded, or been drawn and 
quartered, and his flesh and memory consigned to the dogs. 

When Christ appeared, the down-trodden masses of 
Judea and the kingdoms round about were ready to take 
some heed of his democratic, liberal teachings. When 
Luther appeared, those whom religious despotism had 
ground iato the dust were ready to rise up in aid of the sub- 
version of the doctrine of infallibility in the head of the 
Church, and sustain Christian liberty. These two reformers 
stand forth, towering above the disorder and gloom of their 
times, like bold headlands on a low tempestuous shore. 
Truth, according to our estimation of time, makes but slow 
progress. All the moral advancement made in society since 
the days of Moses, and we do not consider it very great, 
appears to be based on the teachings of Christ, and the 
reform of Martin Luther, and developed through the prac- 
tical application of the science of mechanics to labor by 
which the standard of labor is elevated to the benefit of the 
masses. 

Disinterested justice, humanity, and philanthropy, appear 
to have existed in individuals since the world began, but 



212 

never in communities. In communities these principles take 
root and flourish to the extent experience proves them 
applicable to the development of material interests. 

The necessities of man require the subjugation of the 
earth, and man, in his necessities, is led or forced to acknow- 
ledge and adopt the principles of justice first, humanity next, 
and philanthropy last. 

The decline of commercial slavery in America, we regard 
as a perfect exemplification of the truth of the foregoing 
remarks. Individual opposition to slavery in America, which 
had always existed, was of no effect until the latter part of 
the eighteenth century, when, after sustaining slavery for 
upwards of 150 years, the New England communities took 
measures to abolish the institution. An uncongenial climate 
and soil, combined with new and profitable developments in 
free labor, had, at this period, brought the institution of 
slavery to the last stages of existence throughout several of the 
northern colonies. What remained was becoming a nuisance. 

Rhode Island, we believe, claims the honor of first initiat- 
ing legislative measures of abolition. 

We are indebted to Arnold's History of Bhode Island for 
the following facts relative to the early legislation of that 
State on slavery : 

"In 17*10, an act to prohibit the further importation of slaves into Rhode 
Island was moved in the Assembly. 

"In June, 1774, the subject of slavery, which for four years before had 
received attention, was again considered, in consequence of the action of the 
town of Providence. ' As those who are desirous of enjoying all the advantages 
of liberty themselves, should be willing to extend personal liberty to others, 
reads the preamble, and then proceeds to enact, ' that for the future, no negro 
or raulattoe slave shall be brought into this colony,' or if any were brought in 
they should become free, except the servants of passing travellers, or of British 
colonists, residing here for a term of years, who, on their departure should take 
their slaves with them, or negroes brought from Africa by way of the West 
Indies, whose owners should give bonds to export them within one "year. To 
prevent slaves being brought here for tlie purpose of receiving their freedom, 
and so becoming a charge upon the public, a fine was prescribed which was 
also attached to the harboring any slave thus introduced. In this decided 
action, Rhode Island again took the lead of all her sister colonies." 



213 

The preamble to the foregoing act is somewhat peculiar, 
when we consider that the act itself liberates nobody, but 
simply stops the importation of slaves exce'pt for export, 
defines the rights of transient parties to their slave property, 
the regular slave trader among the rest, and imposes a fine 
upon all who bring slaves into the colony to receive their 
freedom, or harbor any slaves thus introduced, to prevent 
their " becoming a charge upon the public." 

In 1775, an emancipation act was presented to the Rhode 
Island Assembly, declaring free " all negroes as well as all other 
persons born in this colony." 

This act was referred to a future session, and thus it 
remained until February, 1784, when it passed the Assembly. 
By this act, 

" All children of slave mothers, after the first of March, were to be free, the 
cost of their rearing to be paid by the towns where they were born ; and to 
defray these charges, the Council might bind out to service the males, till the 
age of 21, and the females till 18. The next year, the clause requiring them 
to be reared at the expense of the towns was repealed, and that charge was 
laid upon the owner of the mother." 

There is much in the foregoing extracts that is worthy of 
attentive consideration. With all the desire to be rid of the 
negro, Rhode Island was disposed to afford legal rights and 
courteous treatment to strangers holding slaves, and w^hom 
business or pleasure brought within the limit of their laws ; 
and in their act to prevent slaves being brought within the 
colony to receive their freedom, it is evident that the people 
would not then have facilitated the operations of the under- 
ground railroad, nor could the Assembly have been induced 
to pass a Personal Liberty Bill. 

Though Rhode Island was the first to take steps for the 
abolition of slavery, Massachusetts is entitled to the honor of 
first abolishing the institution. That State, in 1780, inserted 
in her bill of rights that " all men are born free and equal," 
and in 1783, the Supreme Court decided that this declara- 
tion was a bar thereafter to slaveholding in the State. Thus, 



214 

slavery, which practically had died a natural death in Massa- 
chusetts, was legally buried in 1783, and that State became 
the first patch of legalized free soil in America. 

In 1784,. Connecticut passed an act which prohibited the 
introduction of slaves and declared that no negro or mulatto 
child born after the 1st day of March, 1784, should be held 
to servitude longer than till twenty-five years thereafter. 

In 1780, Pennsylvania passed an act prohibiting the intro- 
duction of slaves, and declaring children born thereafter of 
slave mothers, free. 

Virginia prohibited the further introduction of slaves in 
1778, and in 1782, all legal restrictions on emancipation were 
removed. 

Maryland pursued the same course in 1783. 

New York and New Jersey prohibited the importation of 
slaves, but took no measures for the extinction of slavery 
within their limits till some years later, 

North CaroHna, in 1786, declared the introduction of slaves 
into that State of " evil consequences and highly impolitic.'' 

In 1792, New Hampshire abolished slavery after the 
manner of Massachusetts. 

The number of slaves in New England at the time mea- 
sures of abolition were taken, must have been less than 
5,000, worth in the aggregate $1,000,000 more or less. 

At this period, the most genuine feeling of dislike to the 
institution of slavery appears to have existed in those southern 
States where the number of slaves was the greatest, but whose 
material interests required its toleration and protection for 
the time being. The exports from Charleston, S. C, then 
exceeded those of any other port in the country, being some- 
thing like $3,000,000 in amount. 

But in the North, slavery on the soil was suffered 
to die a natural, peaceful death, and it was consigned 
to an economical tomb under the auspices of professions of 
justice and humanity, somewhat carelessly mingled with 
legal obsequies. 

Not so the dave trade. With the powerful political motive 



215 

in the North to prevent the increase of slaves in the South, 
each 50,000 of which gave a representative to the federal 
Congress, every northern State that voted on the question 
of making it unconstitutional to abolish the slave trade before 
1808, except Pennsylvania and New Jersey, States having 
little. or no interest in that branch of commerce, voted aye^ 
The slave trade clause was carried by the votes of New 
Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Maryland, North 
Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia, against Virginia, 
Delaware, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. The opposition 
of Yirginia was very decided, inasmuch as the slave trade 
was not for her interest, the migration of her surplus slave 
population to other States having already commenced. Mr. 
Madison was very strenuous that the slave trade should be 
limited to the year 1800, but he was overruled by precisely 
the same parties that are now known as Abolitionists in the 
North and Secessionists in the South. 

How exceedingly interesting it is to follow the crooks and 
turns of human interests and human prejudices. 

Rhode Island, whose interest in the slave trade exceeded that 
of any other State, was not represented in the Convention that 
framed the Constitution, but she ratified it May 29th, 1790. 

Seven-eighths of all the slaves imported into the colonies, 
and subsequently into the States, from first to last, legally up 
to 1808, and illegally for twenty years after, were imported 
for account of and by British subjects and northern United 
States citizens, the importations being about equally divided 
between the two nationalities. 

Leaving the British out of the question for the present, we 
argue that more might be said for the justice and humanity, 
and less for the thrift of the New England communities, espe- 
cially those given to commerce, had they not, after purging 
their soil of the unprofitable sin of slave labor, clung with 
such unyielding tenacity to another and the most profitable 
branch of the business— the slave trade. 

But in ravishing Africa of the heathen descendants of Ham, 
and transporting them to Christian countries, where, as the 



216 

servants of the sons of Japhet, they could enjoy the light of the 
Gospel, the ancient and deep-rooted idea that God's work 
was being done may have been the principal incentive that 
actuated northern citizens in following up that peculiar branch 
of commerce in human flesh so perseveringly. Let this be as 
it may, the charitable mantle of oblivion might with pro- 
priety be cast over the past, but for the very sudden change 
of certain sections in the North from slave trading as God's 
work, to Abolitionism as God's work. Impartial history can 
never speak of that sudden change as legitimate or honest. 
It now appears as though its results to the country at large 
would prove disastrous in the extreme. 

In our remarks relative to the abolition of slavery in the 
northern States, we have not made mention of any particular 
State or section for the purpose of instituting invidious 
comparisons. No, nothing of the kind is intended. Such 
remarks as we have made on the subject, we consider appli- 
cable to all portions of the North that may be regarded as 
abolitionized, and we have said nothing except in the spirit 
of candor and justice, having no earthly motive to gratify 
except that which prompts us to do what little lies in our 
power to expose that spurious and cheap humanity which has 
its source in gall — which withers and destroys everything 
in life it touches, and upon which a great sectional party 
has acquired the administrative power in these dis-United 
States. 

In 1787, the last Continental Congress, sitting in New 
York simultaneously with the Convention in Philadelphia 
which framed the present Federal Constitution, passed what 
is known as ''An oi'dinance for the government of the territory 
of the United States northwest of the Ohio^ The following is 
the last article contained in this ordinance : 

" There shall be neither slavery nor involuntary servitude in the said territory, 
otherwise than in punishment of crimes, where the parties shall be duly con- 
victed." 

Slavery was certainly national when it required special 



217 • 

legislation to secure freedom in any part of the common ter- 
ritory. 

The Ordinance passed unanimously. The territory referred 
to was that which had been ceded to the federation by Yir- 
ginia. There does not appear to have been any particular 
excitement relative to the Ordinance. It passed unanimously, 
and it would appear as if by universal consent, that something 
like a balance of political power should be maintained between 
free and slave territory, that fatal provision in the Constitu- 
tion giving a representative to Congress for every 50,000 
slaves, doubtless being the secret, if not the openly declared 
cause ; and though nothing like what now constitutes a 
sectional party existed in those days, the line then drawn has 
been made a sectional line by the Abolition-republican party 
of the present day. 

Agreeably to the provision in the Constitution of the 
United States, permitting the abolition of the slave trade in 
1808, Congress passed a law making the importation of 
negro slaves illegal from that period. 

The first act for the gradual abolition of slavery in the State 
of New York, was passed March 22, 1799. 

On the 9th of April, 1813, the legislature of that State 
passed "An act concerning slaves and servants," from which 
we extract the following : 

" I. Be it enacted by the people of the State of New York, represented in Senate 
and Assembly, That every negro, mulatto or mestee within this State, who is 
now a slave for life, shall continue such unless such slave shall be manumitted 
according to law ; and that the baptizing of any slave shall not be deemed to 
be a manumission of such slave: 

"Y. And be it further enacted. That no person held as a slave shall be 
imported, introduced or brought into this State, on any pretence whatever, by 
any person coming permanently to reside within this State for the space of nine 
months, shall be considered as having a permanent residence therein within the 
meaning of this act, but it shall not be construed to extend to such persons as 
may reside within this State for a shorter period: and if any person so held as 
slave, shall be imported, introduced or brought into this State, contrary to the 
.true intent and meaning of this act, he shall be and is hereby declared free: and 
any slave who shall have been imported, introduced or brought into this State 



218 

contrary to the foregoing directions, since the first day of May, 1810, shall be 
and is hereby declared free. 

" VII. And be it further enacted. That every child born of a slave within 
this State after the fourth of July, in the year of our Lord 1199, shall be free, 
but shall remain the servant of the owner of his mother and the executors or 
administrators of such owner, in the same manner as if such child had been 
bound to service by the overseers of the poor, and shall continue in such service, 
if a male, until the age of twenty-eight years, and if a female, until the age of 
twenty-five years." 

Under these provisions, slavery in the State of New York 
became entirely extinct about the year 1840. 

February 24th, 1820, New Jerse}^ passed an act for the 
gradual abolition of slavery, and other purposes respecting 
slaves.— R. S., 380. 

" Every child born a slave within this State since the fourth day of July, 
1804, or which shall hereafter be born as aforesaid, shall be free, but shall re- 
main the servant of the OAvner'of his mother, and the executors, administrators, 
or assigns of such owners, in the same manner as if such child had been bound 
to service by the trustees or overseers of the poor, and shall continue in such ser- 
vice, if a male, until the age of twenty-five years, and if female, until the 
age of twenty-one years." 

The census of 1860 gave eight slaves as then living in New 
Jersey. 

A bill prohibiting slavery in all that territory purchased 
of Louisiana, lying north of thirty-six degrees, thirty minutes, 
north latitude, and known as the Missouri Compromise, 
passed the Congr-ess of the United States in 1821. 

During the progress of these events in America, matters 
were taking a decided turn in certain parts of Europe, 
against the slave trade. 

Christian VII., king of Denmark, or rather Frederick YI., 
who then ruled that kingdom as regent, took measures to abolish 
the slave trade in his dominions as early as 1792, and in 
1803, the trade was declared abolished. The Danes owned 
the West India islands, St. Thomas and St. Croix ; but owing 
to diJSiculties in suppressing the contraband traffic, the trade 
was not entirely suppressed until many years afterward. 



219 

In England, the abolition of the slave trade had become a 
subject of systematic, agitation. It will be remembered that 
the Spanish asiento contract was obtained by Cadiz traders in 
1773. England had also lost her American colonies, which 
somewhat curtailed her slave trading operations ; and during 
the war with the colonies, her general traffic in human flesh 
with all parts of America had materially declined. Taking 
advantage of this state of affairs, the humanitarians, G-ran- 
viLLE Sharpe and Mr. Clarkeson caused the subject to be 
brought before Parliament in 1786, and May 12th, 1789, 
Mr. WiLBERFORCE movcd a series of resolutions in Parliament, 
condemnatory of the traffic, and these resolutions passed. 
No practical result from this move was obtained, however, till 
after degrees of investigation and discussion had been reached 
and passed, and it was ascertained that the general interests 
of Great Britain and her American possessions, as well as 
those of justice and humanity, would be promoted by the 
non-importation of negro slaves. It required twenty years 
to bring English material interests up to the humanita- 
rian resolutions passed by Parliament in 1780. In March, 
1807, a bill abolishing the slave trade on and after Janu- 
ary 1st, 1808, passed both houses of Parliament by a large 
majority. 

France took measures to abolish the slave trade in 1814. 
In the treaty made with England at that time, Louis XYIII. 
declared in an additional article that he reciprocated the 
sentiments of England relative to a branch of commerce so 
repulsive to the principles of natural justice and contrary to 
the spirit of the age. It was fixed that the French should 
cease the traffic in five years from that date. In 1815, this 
stipulation was renewed, and in 1819, France, so far as she 
could by legislation, put a stop to the slave trade. 

In 1814, Spain stipulated with England to abolish the slave 
trade in 1822. 

Portugal, in 1815, also agreed with England that her slave 
trade should be abolished north of the equator, from that 
period, and everywhere in 1823. 



220 

It now becomes necessary to turn to another course of 
eventsin another part of the world. 

While those measures tending to the extinction of slavery, 
which we have narrated, were being adopted, Napoleon was 
enacting his grand military drama in continental Europe. 
One of the direct consequences of the political changes caused 
in Europe, by Napoleon, was universal revolution through- 
out the Spanish American possessions, which, in the course 
of ten years, resulted in the complete overthrow and disap- 
pearance of the Spanish power on the American continent. 

All of these Spanish American Revolutions commenced in 
1810, and all had come to a successful close before 1825. 
One stupendous result of these revolutions was the elevation 
of over 7,000,000 aborigines from the level of brutes to that 
of human beings. 

In the following account of slavery, its original status, 
peculiarities, and decline in the Spanish American possessions, 
the various countries will be taken up in the order of their 
political divisions. 

MEXICO. 

The Mexican revolution commenced Sept. 16th, 1810, and 
terminated Feb. 24th, 1821. A federal Constitution was 
adopted Oct. 4th, 1824. 

In the plan of Iguala, under which independence was pro- 
claimed and secured, Art. 3d declares that the people of 
Mexico were " united, without any distinction between Ame- 
ricans and Europeans ;" and in Art. llth, that, " The dis- 
tinction of castes is abolished, which was made by the 
Spanish law, excluding them from the rights of citizenship. 
All the inhabitants of the country are citizens and equal, and 
the door of advancement is open to virtue and merit." 

By Art. 36, of the Constitution of 1824, it is declared that, 
" The nation is bound to protect, by wise and just laws, civil 
liberty, personal security, prosperity, equality of legal rights, 
and all the other righ ts of the individuals who compose it." 



221 

In 1829, under the Presidency of General Guerrero, the 
entire abolition of slavery was consummated by the following 
decree : 

" The President of the United Mexican States to the Inhabitants of the 
same : 

"Be it known — That, being desirous to signalize the anniversary of inde- 
pendence, in the year 1829, by an act of national justice and beneficence, which 
may redound to the advantage and support of so inestimable a good, which 
may further insure the public tranquillity ; which may tend to the agrandize- 
ment of the republic, and may reinstate an unfortunate portion of its inhabi- 
tants in the sacred rights which nature gave to them, and the nation should 
protect by wise and just laws, conformably with the dispositions of the thirtieth 
article of the constituent act, employing the extraordinary faculties which have 
been conceded to me, I have resolved to decree : 

Art. 1. — " Slavery is, and shall remain abolished in the republic. 

Art. 2. — " In consequence, those who have hitherto been regarded a slaves, 
are free. 

Art. 3. — " Whensoever the condition of the treasury shall permit, the owners 

of the slaves shall be indemnified according to the terms which the law may 

dispose. 

" Guerrero. 
"Mexico, Sept. Uth, 1829." 

Under the " Plan of Toluca," or Central Constitution of 
1836, and the Presidency of Bustamente, a further decree 
was issued, as follows : 

Art. 1. " Slavery is abolished, without any exception, throughout the whole 
republic. 

Art. 2. " The owners of the slaves manumitted by the present law, or by the 
decree of Sept. 15, 1829, shall be indemnified for their interests in them, to be 
estimated according to the proofs which may be presented of their personal 
qualities ; • to which effect, one appraiser shall be appointed by the Commissary 
General, or the person performing his duties, and another by the owner • and 
in case of disagreement, a third, who shall be appointed by the respective con- 
stitutional alcalde ; and from the decision thus made there shall be no aiDpeal. 
The indemnification mentioned in this article shall not be extended to the colo- 
nists of Texas, who may have taken part in the revolution in that depart- 
ment. 

Art. 3. " The owners to whom the original documents drawn up with re- 
gard to the proofs mentioned in the preceding article, shall be delivered gratis, 
shall themselves present them to the Supreme Government, which will authorize 
the general treasury to issue to them the corresponding orders for the amount 
of their respective interests. 



222 

Art. 4. " The payment of the said orders shall be made in the manner 
which may seem most equitable to the government, with the view of reconcil- 
ing the rights of individuals with the actual state of the public finances." 

April 5tk, 1837. 

The Constitution of 1843, Bases orgcmicas de la Repuhlica 
Mejicana, of that year, declares, Title 2d, that : 

" ]Vo one is a slave in the territory of the nation, and that any slave who may 
be inti'oduced, shall be considered free, and remain under the protection of the 
laws." 

The Constitution of 1847, which, in fact, is the old Fede- 
ral Constitution of 1824, does not reenact this clause ; but 
in the Acta de Reformas annexed to it, it is declared : 

Art. 1st. " That every Mexican, either by birth or naturalization, who has 
attained the age of twenty years, who possesses the means of an honest liveli- 
hood, and who has not been condemned by legal process to any infamous pun- 
ishment, is a citizen of the United Mexican States," and in Art. 5th, " In order 
to secure the rights of man, which the Constitution recognize, a law shall fix 
the guaranties of liberty, security, property and equality, which all the inhabi- 
tants of the republic enjoy, and shall establish the means to make them effec- 
tive." 

In the present Constitution of Mexico, that of 1857, we 
find the following : 

Art. 2. " In the republic all are born free. Slaves that set foot upon the 
national territory recover, by that single act, tlieir liberty, and have a right to 
the protection of the laws." 

Art, 4. Every one is free to embrace the profession, industry or labor which 
pleases him, it being useful and honest, and to enjoy its products. Neither 
the one nor the other shall be interfered with, except through judicial sentence, 
when attacking the rights of a third party, or by an order of government, dic- 
tated in the terms prescribed by the law, when offending the rights of so- 
ciety. 

Art. 5. No one shall be obliged to render personal service without just com- 
pensation, and without his full consent. The law shall not authorize any con- 
tract which has for its object the loss, or the krevocable sacrifice of personal 
liberty, whetlier it be for the purpose of labor, of education, or religious vow. 
Neither shall there be authorized agreements by which an individual consents 
to his own banishment or disfranchisement." 



223 

The foregoing legislative acts in Mexico, have direct 
reference to negro and mulatto slaves. Indian slavery and 
its abolition will be noticed hereafter. 

In 1530, considerable numbers of negro slaves were found 
in the State of Yera Cruz. As the country was explored and 
occupied by the Spaniards, this class of laborers came into 
demand, principally, to work the sugar plantations. Hence, 
in certain portions of the States of Vera Cruz, Puebla, Oajaca, 
Tabasco, Chiapas, Guerrero and Colima, the valleys of Cuer- 
navaca, Cuautla etc., negro slaves in considerable numbers 
were employed for upward of two and a half centuries. 

It cannot be said, however, that negro slavery in Mexico 
was ever carried out extensively, or proved much of a suc- 
cess. From the first of the eighteenth century to the latter 
part of the same, the institution was at the height of all the 
prosperity it ever enjoyed in that country ; and the number 
of negro slaves at any one time during this period, could not 
have exceeded 100,000. 

The natives of Mexico, in numbers and hardihood, proved 
too^uch, even for the iron rigor of Spanish rule, and although 
millions were destroyed, enough remained — probably as 
many as could be managed — ^to serve the general purposes 
of labor throughout New Spain. 

In the early part of the nineteenth century, we find the 
institution of negro slavery in Mexico tending to rapid decay. 
In the first place, the expense and risk of introducing negroes 
into those sections not immediately contiguous to Vera Cruz, 
had considerably increased; the Indians evinced more than or- 
dinary restiveness, which had a bad effect on the negro ; and 
the negro slaves raised in the country, with their descendants 
by the Indians, called Zambos, were becoming vicious and 
unmanageable. Consequently, the demand for negroes fell 
off, and in certain sections measures were adopted to eman- 
cipate the negro slaves and work them under a system of 
free labor. 

This experiment was fully and successfully tried on some 
of the largest sugar plantations. In the valleys of Cuerna- 



224 

vaca and Cuautla Amilpas, the principal proprietors liberated 
a certain number of their slaves annually, and encouraged 
them to remain on the estates as free laborers. So success- 
ful did this system prove, that, on many of the largest estates 
in Cuernavaca, there was not a single negro slave in the year 
1808. The policy of this measure became still more apparent in 
1810, for as soon as the revolution broke out, those planters 
who had not adopted the system of gradual emancipation 
were abandoned at once by their slaves, and forced, in 
some instances, to give up working their estates ; while those 
who had provided themselves, in time, with a mixed caste of 
free laborers, retained, even during the worst of times, a suf- 
ficient number of hands to enable them to cultivate their 
lands, although upon a reduced scale. 

The labor of the estates in Mexico worked under the free 
system, proceeded without compulsion, anything like coercive 
measures being scarcely'known. But such a mixture of 
negroes, Indians and Zambos was productive of a very low 
order of civilization. 

We find in " Ward's Mexico," written in 1827, a comj^ari- 
son made between the result of free labor on*sugar estates in 
Mexico, and slave labor on sugar estates in Cuba, as follows : 

" One hundred and fifty slaves are employed, in the island of Cuba, upon a 
plantation capable of producing one thousand cases, or 16,000 arrohas* of sugar 
(vide Humboldt's JEssai Politique sur Vile de Cuba), while, in the valley of Cu- 
autla, one hundred and fifty free laborers are found suflBcient for a hacienda, 
which yields from 32 to 40,000 arrobas. Thus (supposing the expense in other 
respects to be the same), in the one case, the produce of each individual would 
be 2,606 lbs., and in the other 5,332 lbs., or even 6,666 lbs., taking the 
maximum of 40,000 arrobas. The correctness of this calculation depends of 
course upon the comparative fertility of the soil of the island of Cuba, and in 
the valley of Cuautla Amilpas, respecting which I am not competent to give an 
opinion. There is no reason, however, to suppose that there is any superiority 
in the soil of Cuautla, sufficiently great to account for so marked a difference in 
the amount of the sugar, raised by an equal number of laborers ; for the ele- 
vation of the valley above the level of the ocean, renders it impossible to apply 
Humboldt's estimate of the extraordinary fertility of Ycra Cruz to the planta- 
tions of Cuautla or Cuernavaca." 

* An arroba is 25 pounds. 



225 

In view of the foregoing, let it not be said that the experi- 
ment of free negro labor in the tropics, on a large scale, was 
never successfully tried. 

It is a curious fact, and worthy of note, that the process 
of gradually abolishing negro slavery commenced simulta- 
neously in New England and the Spanish colonies of Mexico, 
for precisely the same cause, namely, the institution had 
become unprofitable. 

In New England, slavery was abolished by law, while in 
Mexico, the measures taken to this end were voluntary on 
the part of the Spanish planters. 

Here we find the cold and sterile North and the hot and 
fruitful tropics, the cool, calculating and thrifty New Eng- 
lander, and the extravagant, showy, hard-hearted Spaniard — 
giving in their evidence against negro slavery and abolish- 
ing it as an unprofitable institution. 

Before the Mexican revolution had terminated, in 1821, 
nearly every vestige of negro slavery in Mexico had dis- 
appeared. Many of the slaves fled, others were Hberated, 
and when Guerrero issued his decree of immediate and 
universal emancipation in 1829, there were not 10,000 ne- 
groes and mulattoes held as slaves throughout the entire 
republic, to take advantage of the Kberty thus decreed. 

In the northern tier of Mexican States, in Durango, San 
Luis Potosi, Jalisco, Michoacan, and Queretaro, the negro 
was rarely seen except as the servant of a Spaniard. Con- 
siderable numbers of mulattoes are found in the State of 
Guerrero. Some remain in the States of Oajaca, Tabasco and 
Chiapas. The term Loho is generally applied to these 
mulattoes, from the pecuhar tint of their complexion, which 
resembles that of the Mexican wolf called Loho. In 
Yera Cruz and vicinity, a few negroes, and quite a number 
of mulattoes, known as Jarochos, are concentrated. In 1803, 
Humboldt, in his classification of the inhabitants of the city 
of Mexico, gave 10,000 mulattoes. This race has disap- 
peared, and the pure negro is not to be found on any of the 
table lands of the country. The dry and rarefied atmosphere 
of those regions is destructive to his race. 



226 

We do not believe there is enough negro blood in all 
Mexico to make 20,000 pure negroes, notwithstanding a pro- 
minent legislator very gravely remarked to us recently, that 
he calculated one-third of the Mexican population was of the 
pure negro race, which would give about 2,500,000 negroes 
to the republic. 

The question of reestablishing or extending negro slavery 
over Mexico, which is now a prominent subject of agitation 
in the public mind, can be disposed of in very few words. 

The Cordilleras occupy the great central portion of Mexico, 
leaving a strip of low land on either coast, narrow and irregu- 
lar in outline, known as the tierra caliente ; and these low 
lands are cut up at frequent intervals by mountain ridges and 
spurs — the whole being of volcanic formation. Now the 
apostles of the " irrepressible conflict " doctrine must make it 
appear in the first place, that the slavery propagandists can 
cause the Mexican Cordilleras, the backbone of the country, 
with all the detached spurs and ridges, to sink into the earth, 
and leave in their place, low, hot, moist and rich plains. 
Next, the irrepressibles must prove that the slavery exten- 
sionists can speedily annihilate some seven* or eight millions 
of Mexicans, who, in their turn, will fight for freedom to the 
last drop of their blood. And lastly, it must be made to ap- 
pear that the slave trade can be opened, and the price of 
good field hands reduced to $200. All this being accom- 
plished, slavery extension into Mexico might stand some 
chance. 

Take comfort, then, ye simple-minded natives in the 
North, who have been taught to shiver and shake in holy 
horror of slavery extension. Eschew the gospel of uneasi- 
ness and b« comforted. Do not attempt to take the Higher 
Law into your own hands, to work out the end the Higher 
Law had already accomplished some time before you came 
into existence. The only difficulty is, you do not acknow- 
ledge the Higher Law, whose commands you pretend to 
obey. Cast aside, therefore, your superstitious notions ; 
eschew Abolition, Jacobin teachings, and study our frontiers 
— Mexico, nature, God. If you cannot bring yourselves 



227 

right on the subject, train up your children in the way 
they should go, and let us have some hope that the next gene- 
ration will repair the national mischief perpetrated by the 
present. 

The Subject of Indian Slavery in Mexico, and the 
Spanish American countries generally, while under the rule 
of Spain, requires some notice here. 

No sooner did the natives of the West India islands become 
acquainted with the Spaniards who thronged to their shores 
immediately on the discovery, than they began to evince a 
very strong and very natural aversion to the strangers. Las 
Casas declared that the Indians shunned the Spaniards as 
naturally as " sparrows the spari'owhawk." This led to coer- 
cive measures on the part of the Spaniards, looking at first 
to intercourse simply, but which soon resulted in the forcible 
subjugation of the natives, the natural and speedy consequence 
of which was their abasement to a horribly destructive system 
of slavery. The peculiarly ingenious manner in which the 
Spaniards blended deviltry with piety, and which cannot now 
be called one of*the "lost arts," caused them to look upon 
the Indians as cattle with souls. They' hunted the poor 
natives, subjugated them, and worked up their bodies that 
their souls might enter paradise ; the idea of which, when 
told that he would meet Christians there, drove a famous 
cacique to such despair that he went and hung himself. 

In 1495, Columbus sent back to Spain from Hispaniola, four 
ships loaded with Indian slaves. 

In 1496, Bartholomew Columbus sent to Spain 300 Indian 
slaves from Hispaniola. 

In 1498, Columbus sent to Spain, in five vessels, 600 Indian 
slaves. All these Indians were captured in the island of His- 
paniola by Spanish war parties. 

Columbus, in his letters to Los Reyes, estimates that, " in 
the name of the sacred Trinity," there may be sent as many 
slaves as sale could be found for in Spain, and that the value 
of the slaves, for whom there would be a demand to the num- 



228 

ber of 4,000, as he calculated from certain information, and 
of the logwood, would amount to forty cuentos, equivalent to 
about $60,000. It was also proposed at this time to exchange 
Indian slaves for goods wanted from the mother country. 

In the year 1497, letters patent were issued from Los 
Reyes, authorizing repartimientos, or partitions of lands in 
the Indies to the colonizing Spaniards. Following upon this 
S3''stem of dividing up the lands, regulations that the lands so 
divided should be cultivated by the Indians under the direc- 
tion of their caciques, were established. An improvement 
upon this system was soon devised, namely, stocking the 
lands with Indian slaves who should belong to the estate and 
perform the labor thereof. Later, a new form of repartimi- 
ento is found. Antonio de Leon the jurist, defines it as fol- 
lows : 

" Repartimiento iu ISTew Spaio, is that whicli is made every week of the 
Indians who are given for mines and works by the judges for that purpose {los 
Juezes Eepartidores), for which the pttehlos contribute throughout the twenty 
weeks of the year, what they call a dobl^ (a Spanish coin), at the rate of ten 
Indians for every hundred ; and the remainder of the year what they call a 
sendlla (another Spanish coin), at the rate of two Indians for every hundred. 
The above rate was for works and cultivation of land. When it was for mines, to 
work for which particular pueblos were set aside, it was a contribution for the 
whole year, at the rate of four Indians for every hundred 1" 

At an early day, a simple division of Indians was made 
among the colonists, giving to one 50, to another 100, to 
another 500, to another 1,000, etc., in encomienda, as it was 
called, after the following form, or deed as first given by 
OvANDO, governor of Hispaniola, in 1503 : 

" To you, such a one, is given an encomienda of so many Indians with such a 
cacique, and you are to teach them the things of our holy faith." 

A correspondence between Ovando, governor of Hispaniola, 
and their majesties, touching the Indians at this time, is 
worthy of note, as involving a variety of interests, and the 
kind of freedom decreed to the Indians. 

Ovando wrote that the Indians fled from the Spaniards and 
could not be induced to hold intercourse with them ; all of 



229 

which proved a decided hindrance to their conversion and 
seriously retarded the prosperity of the colony. To which 
their majesties rephed, directing Ovando to compel the Indians 
to have dealings with the Spaniards, and work on such terms 
as he might think Jit. It was further ordered that the In- 
dians should go and hear mass and be instructed in the faith ; 
and that they should do all these things " as free persons, 
for so they are J' 

The word encomienda originally implied a " Oommandery in 
a military order," but in its application to the division of 
Indians, it signified a preceptory charge. Later, we find the 
Spanish jurists thus defining the institution : 

" Encomienda is a right conceded by royal bounty (a merced y vohmtad del 
Rey) to well-deserving persons in the Indies, to receive and enjoy for themselves 
the tributes of the Indians who should be assigned to them, with a charge of 
providing for the good of those Indians in spiritual and temporal matters, and 
of inhabiting and defending the provinces where these encomkndas should be 
granted to them," 

In such language as this were the aborigines found in 
America by the Spaniards, condemned to unmitigated body 
and soul-crushing slavery, the profits arising from the system 
being divided between the crown, the church, and the lordly 
encomiendero. 

At an early date, the capitation tax was established, by 
which each Indian was required to pay a sum varying from 
three to fifteen dollars per annum. Then came the terrible 
Mita law, by which a certain number of Indians were required 
to labor by turns in the mines and produce a stated amount. 
The sufferings caused the Indians by this law are almost 
beyond belief. Some of the mining districts in various parts 
of Spanish America were nearly depopulated by it, and in 
consequence, this law was mitigated from time to time, and 
finally declared abolished during the latter part of the 
reign of Charles III. 

The policy of Spain was to create a market in her American 
colonies for her own products and manufactures — to supply 
them with provisions as well as fabricated goods — and receive 



230 

in return, the largest possible amount that could be extracted 
from the mines. The commerce and trade growing out of all 
this was secured to the Spaniards as a monopoly ; and to 
support the colonial government and keep up the flow of 
treasure into the royal coffers, the industnj of the colonies was 
taxed. The contrivance of Spain was to aggrandize herself 
at the expense of the common rights of humanit}^ ; and among 
the millions of aborigines who toiled under Spanish domina- 
tion, the fell purpose of this contrivance was wrought out, 
causing an amount of human woe that the mind of man can- 
not compass. 

It is the general custom among writers to condemn the 
Spanish colonists for their cruel treatment of the Indians, and 
liold the government of Spain excusable. By giving certain 
extracts from Las Leyes de las Indias, the Acts of the Council 
of the Indias, and royal decrees, in which the Indians are 
declared kombf^s libres, and otherwise spoken of as persons 
who must be protected and favored, the general impression 
is created that the government of Spain is in no very great 
degree, responsible for the cruel treatment of the Indians by 
the conquerors and colonists of Spanish America. We take 
a contrary view of this matter, and believe the responsibility 
of nearly all the dire evils brought upon the Indians by the 
Spanish adventurers, is directly chargeable upon the home 
government. 

After the conquerors of Spanish America had killed off a 
great many millions of the aborigines, and thus reduced their 
numbers to a manageable figure, it became apparent to the 
crown that a stop must be put to the further wholesale 
destruction of the Indians, in order that laborers might be 
had to develop what was regarded as the great resource of 
the New World, namely, the mines. Negroes could not be 
made available for this purpose, and therefore it became 
necessary to preserve enough of the native population to 
meet that requirement. 

This population being brought into the work, it became 
necessary to guard against e?neut':s and rebellions, that the 



231 

hazard of holding the colonial possessions and the expense 
of maintaining their government, might not be unduly aug- 
mented. It became necessary, therefore, to reduce the 
intelligence and position of the Indians to as near the level 
of the brute as possible, and at the same time have a care 
not to so oppress, as to drive to that desperation which will 
cause humanity, even of the lowest order, to turn upon the 
oppressor. 

To meet these necessities in a pious way, the laws of 
Spain regulating the Indians of the colonies, appear to have 
been framed. For every clause tending to protect and favor 
the Indian, there were two holding him to the most abject 
servitude. 

It may be said that the slavery of the Spanish- American 
Indians on the continent, was of a harsher character than that 
of the negroes, inasmuch as the negro, who had cost 300 or 
400 dollars cash, was valued higher and treated with more 
consideration than the native Indian, whose first cost was the 
catching and breaking in, and who was held to the soil by 
ties of association and kindred. 

The intellectual capacities of the Indians of Mexico were 
naturally of a finer and far higher order than those of the 
negro, and for this reason, it was necessary to practise 
greater cruelty and enforce more systematic degradation 
upon the Indian, in order to keep him under, than upon the 
negro. 

There was only one exception to this rule. The absolute 
sale of Indians for transfer from country to country and point 
to point, almost entirely ceased after the West India islands 
were supplied with negroes. This did not form a part of 
the system on the continent, as the removal of the Indians 
from where they were born and reared, would break the 
strongest tie by which they were held in bondage. In this 
respect, it must be said that the status of the Indian slave 
in the Spanish possessions on the continent, was different from 
that of the negro slave. It fell to the lot of the Spanish- 
American Indian to live and die a wretched slave to rapa- 



232 

cious, foreign task-masters, in the land of his birth, the home 
of his race. 

The following is an extract from the writings of Las 
Oasas : 

" As for the continent it is certain, and what I myself know to be true, that 
the Spaniards hare ruined ten kingdoms there, bigger than all Spain, by the 
commission of all sorts of barbarity and unheard of cruelties. They have driven 
away or killed all the inhabitants, so that all these kingdoms are desolate to this 
day (1560), and reduced to a most deplorable condition, though this was the 
best peopled country in the world. We dare assert, without fear of exaggerat- 
ing, that in the space of those 40 years in which the Spaniards exercised their 
intolerable tyranny in this I^ew World, they unjustly put to death above 
12,000,000 of people, counting men, women and children; and it may be 
affirmed, without injury to truth, upon a just calculation, that during this space 
of time above 50,000,000 have died in these countries." 

The general truth of Las Casas' statements cannot be 
doubted ; but it is to be hoped that his stupendous numerals 
are exaggerations. 

"We have given 7,000,000 as the number of Indian slaves 
liberated by the Spanish American revolutions. This is pro- 
bably a low estimate. In 1823, Humboldt estimated the 
Indian population of Spanish America, the civiHzed or 
settled Indians, as they are called, to be 7,530,000. The num- 
ber must have been considerably greater in 1810, when the 
revolution first broke out. General Miller estimates the 
number of human beings destroyed by the sword in Spanish 
America between 1810 and 1825, at 1,000,000! Miller, 
though a partisan, was considered candid and well informed. 
The Indians were destroyed by thousands on the slightest 
pretext. It has been stated on good authority that Morillo 
shed more blood in one year, in the single State of Vene- 
zuela, than was shed in the thirteen North American colonies 
during the seven years of their Revolutionary struggle. 

It is no exaggeration, therefore, to say that the Spanish 
American revolutions broke the fetters of 7,000,000 of human 
beings, and raised them from the brute level to that of 
humanity. Of this number, something more than half must 
be allotted to Mexico. 



233 

One of the human beings thus liberated and elevated, is 
Benito Juarez, President of the republic of Mexico, a pure 
Indian, and said to be of the Toltec race, driven from Ana- 
huac by the Aztecs — he who has clung to the last hope of his 
race and nation with a tenacity that death alone could relax, 
and by his unyielding determination, pure patriotism, and in- 
corruptible integrity, guided the nation through a desperate 
and bloody revolution — the only real revolution they have 
had in Mexico since the independence — 'and saved his country. 

Away down in Oajaca, where the winds sweep through 
the tall cypress in mournful sighs, and the stupendous and 
gloomy surroundings of nature invite to profound and 
melancholy repose, is Mitla. The signification of this word in 
the Indian language of the country, is, the place of sadness ; and 
here are found the extraordinary remains of what are known 
as the sepulchral palaces of the ancient kings of Mexico. 
From this region comes President Juarez. Rising as it were 
from the tombs of his ancestors, he liberates his country 
from the evils imposed upon it by a nation not as old as 
those visible remains of the sepulchres of his own race. In 
Juarez we see a mysterious connection between the un- 
known, dead Past, and the living Present. In Juarez we see 
the romance and' the reality of Mexico. 

At the conclusion of the Mexican war of independence in 
1821, the Spanish regime by which the Indians were held in 
bondage under the encomiendas and repartimientos^ the laws of 
tribute, distinction of castes, etc., disappeared. The Flan of 
Iguala, proclaimed 1821, says in Article 11 : " The distinction 
of castes is abolished, which was, by the Spanish law, excluding 
them from the rights of citizenship." This referred to the 
Indians. The decree of Guerrero in 1829 referred to negro 
slaves, and whatever may have been the faults of the Mexican 
nation since it cast off the Spanish yoke, the numerous extracts 
that have been given from their various constitutions and 
decrees, evince a deep and undying hatred to the system of 
involuntary servitude, and an unequivocal denial of the doc- 
trine that man has a right to hold property in man. 



234 

Peonage, which some characterize as a species of masked 
slavery, is a system by which the labor of the country is regu- 
lated, having been established by the Mexican government 
since the war of independence. This peonage is not masked 
slavery, nor is there anything of slavery attached to the sys- 
tem. The Mexican peon can be one of the most indepen- 
dent laboring men in existence, if he chooses ; or he can 
enjoy the luxury of being in debt. 

YUCATAN. 

This former Captain-Generalship having joined with Mexico 
in the war of independence, became incorporated with that 
republic under the federal Constitution of 1824, and con- 
sequently, has been governed by the same legislation as 
Mexico. 

Negro slavery scarcely ever had existence in Yucatan. 

GUATEMALA. 

On the 21st September, 1821, the Captain-Generalship of 
Guatemala became an independent State, and united itself 
with the republic of Mexico ; but on the 1st July, 1823, it 
became a separate government, and eventually the confede- 
ration of the five Central American States of Guatemala, 
San Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica, witli 
the territory of the Mosquito, was formed. 

A constitution for the new republic was adopted by the 
National Assembly on the 22d of November, 1824. 

Squire's Nicaragua says : 

" The Constitution of 1824 contained guaranties of individual rights, the 
representative principle, habeas corpus, and the liberty of the press. 

" Among the acts of the Assembly which formed the Constitution was a 
Decree issued on the iTth April, 1824, abolishing slavery absolutely and at 
once, and providing against its reestablishment at any time or in any part of 
the republic. 

" The slave trade was declared to be piracy, and the heaviest penalties were 
declared against all persons who should engage in it directly or indirectly. 

" To the Republic of Central America, therefore, belongs the glory of having 



235 

been the first country in the world to aboUsh negro slavery. And to the 
policy marked out by its first constituent assembly, it has ever and faithfully 
adhered. It was the adoption of this measure which led to its first dispute 
with Great Britain, that loud-mouthed advocate of philanthropy, when philan- 
thropy is profitable, and never otherwise. 

"Will it be credited, that as late as 1840, a claim enforced by vessels of 
war, was made against Central America by the British Government, for slaves 
who had fled from Behze, and secured their freedom under the Constitution 
of Central America ? Yet such is the fact— the black, damning fact." 

In all the republic of Central America, negro slavery 
never attained to any great extent. Yery few negroes and 
but little evidence of negro blood can now be found in 
Guatemala, or the Central American states. 

In 1838, the confederacy was dissolved, Guatemala, as 
well as other states, becoming independent republics. 

NEW GRANADA. 

In 1810, the Spanish authority in the Vice- Royalty of 
New Granada and Captain-Generalship of Yenezuela, was 
thrown off, and an incessant war against that power main- 
tained until 1824, when the Spaniards were finally van- 
quished. 

In 1819, the Congress of Angostura met, and the Repub- 
lic of Colombia was proclaimed, in which Yenezuela was 
united with New Granada, and on the 30th August, 1821, a 
federal Constitution was adopted. 

This union, however, lasted only ten years. In November, 

1829, Yenezuela seceded from the republic, and in May, 

1830, the province now known as Ecuador, also withdrew. 
The central part of Colombia then constituted itself the 

republic of New Granada, by a decree adopted on the 21st 
November, 1831, and in 1832 a new Constitution was pro- 
claimed, which, in 1842-3 was revised, and was afterward 
known as the reformed Constitution of 1843. 

A Report by the Minister of the Interior of the republic 
of Colombia, presented to the National Congress on the 22d 



236 

April, 1823 (when Venezeula and Ecuador were included in 
the republic), saj's, under the head of " Slavery " : 

"The law of 21st July, 1821, gave liberty to the children of female slaves, 
abolished the trade in negroes, and the boards of manumission have since been 
in activity throughout the republic." 

In December of the same year (1823), the period fixed for 
the liberation of slaves by purchase, it was carried into effect, 
and the Legislature of Colombia received the blessings of 
thousands restored to the condition of men. 

By a law of the Congress of the republic of Colombia, 
passed on the 18th of February, 1825, the slave trade was 
declared piracy, and made punishable with death. 

The first General Congress of Colombia passed the following 
law with reference to the Indian population, 11th October, 
1821: 

" Art. 1. The Indigenos of Colombia, called Indians in the Spanish code, 
shall not in the future pay the impost known by the degrading name of 
* tribute,' nor shall they be obliged to render any service or labor to any class 
of persons without the payment of just compensation, which shall be stipulated 
beforehand. 

" They shall be in all respects equal to other citizens, and shall be protected 
by the same laws ." 

All these laws and provisions of the former republic of 
Colombia and of New Granada, with regard to slavery and 
the rights of the Indians, were reaffirmed by and incorporated 
into the revised code of laws of New Granada, which went 
into effect on the 1st of October, 1843. 

VENEZUELA. 

This Captain-Generalship having united with the Vice- 
Royalty of New Granada in the revolution of 1810, became a 
part of the republic of Colombia, and was regulated by the 
Constitution of 1821, and subsequent laws, by which the abo- 
lition of slavery was consummated the same as in other 
States of the Republic. 



237 



PERU. 



The Peruvian revolution commenced in 1810 and the in- 
dependence of the country was proclaimed on the 28th of 
July, 1821. Among the first legislative acts of the new 
government was a decree which declared that the children of 
slaves born in Peru after the 28th July, 1821, should be free. 

This was followed by another, abolishing the tribute, and 
enacting that the aborigines be thenceforth denominated 
Peruvians like the Creoles. 

In Art. 152 of the first Constitution of Peru it is declared 
that no one is born a slave in the republic, neither does any 
one enter from other countries who is not made free when he 
treads on Peruvian soil. 

Should any Peruvian be found guilty of importing slaves 
into the republic for the purpose of traffic, the Constitution 
declares that he shall be deprived of his rights of citizenship. 
The internal traffic, however, continued up to 1855, though 
it was confined to buying and selling such slaves as existed in 
the country before the war of independence began, or to 
such of their off'spring as were born before the year 1820, 
when Peru was no longer the acknowledged patrimony of 
the Spaniards. 

By decree of the Constitutional Government of Peru, in 
1855, slavery was finally and entirely abolished, and the 
capitation tax to which the Indians had been subjected since 
the time of the Spaniards was made to cease. 

The government of Peru obligated itself to pay for the 
negro slaves, some 25,000 in number, liberated by the decree 
of 1855. 

As in Mexico, negro slavery in Peru was confined to a few 
agricultural districts of hmited extent. The principal districts 
were lea, Cafieta, Santa, Huacho, and the neighborhood of 
the capital. 

The Indians only were employed to work the mines. 
These are located in the higher regions, where the negro 
does not thrive. We have stated that negro slaves were 



238 

never taken by the Spaniards to work the mines on the con- 
tinent. 

CHILI. 

The revolution was commenced, and a Provisional Go- 
vernment established in Chili in 1810. Independence was 
declared on the 12th February, 1818. 

The present Constitution was adopted on the 25th May, 
1833. 

By this Constitution, slavery is abolished forever, the slave 
trade forbidden under severe penalties, and every person who 
treads the soil of the republic is declared free. 

No stranger engaged in the slave trade is permitted to 
reside in Chili. 

LA PLATA 

In 181(5, the Constitutional Assembly of the Provinces of 
the Rio de la Plata declared those countries independent 
of Spain, and in 1821, the Spanish troops were finally 
expelled. 

In 1824, the independence of the Provinces of the La 
Plata was recognized by the English government. 

The slave trade was abolished under severe penalties, 
by a decree of the first Constitutional Assembly of the 
Provinces in 1813. 

During the war of independence, slavery in the Provinces 
became nearly extinct, mainly by liberations. Entire regi- 
ments were formed of the blacks thus liberated, and under 
the name of libertos, they were enrolled in the service of the 
republic. At one time their numbers reached as high as 
5,000. 

The slaves had also the privilege of buying their freedom 
at any time, by paying the original purchase money. By 
these means, slavery was gradually and quietly extinguished 
in the Provinces of the Rio de la Plata. 



239 



BRAZIL. 

( Originally Portuguese.) 

We have not included some 300,000 Brazilian Indians, in 
our enumeration of Indian slaves liberated by the revolutions 
of 1810 on the continent. At first, the Portuguese enslaved 
the Indians in Brazil, and their system of slavery was as 
burdensome and destructive as that of the Spaniards ; but 
there appears to have been a determined and partially suc- 
cessful action, on the part of the Portuguese government, to 
protect the aborigines of Brazil. 

By a decree of the Portuguese government, in 1755, the 
natives of Brazil were declared free and entitled to the name 
and all the rights of citizens ; and though this had very httle 
effect in elevating that degraded class, and though, in certain 
localities, considerable numbers of the natives continued in 
abject servitude, it cannot be said that the few hundred 
thousand Indians scattered throughout the vast empire of 
Brazil were slaves (like the Spanish- American Indians) when 
Brazil became independent of Portugal in 1822, and com- 
menced her new political career, under a constitutional 
hereditary monarchy, with Dom Pedro I. as emperor. 

Until quite recently, no light shade can be given to the 
history of slavery in Brazil. That country has been one 
immense grave-yard for Africans. The short run from the 
coast of Africa to BraziUan ports, the great extent of coun- 
try adapted to negro labor, and the destructive system under 
which slaves were worked, induced, from the commencement 
of its occupation by the Portuguese, an extravagant importa- 
tion of negro slaves ; and it is only within ten years that this 
traSic in Brazil has yielded to the spirit of the age. 

The number of negro slaves imported into Brazil from 
Africa between 1530 and 1850, a period of 320 years, we 
estimate as follows : 



240 





Average per annum. 


From 1530 to 1600 


5,000 


300,000 


From 1600 to 1700 


. 15,000 


1,500,000 


From 1700 to 1800 


. 20,000 


2,000,000 


From 1800 to 1820 


. 30,000 


600,000 


From 1830 to 1840 


. 85,000 


850,000 


From 1840 to 1850 


. 50,000 


500,000 


Total in 320 years 


5,750,000 



The abolition of the slave trade by the civilized nations, 
had the effect to concentrate, in a great measure, the expiring 
struggles of this infernal trafi&c on the shores of Brazil. The 
capacities of the country to consume negroes, and its favorable 
location for the trade, caused it to be a popular rendezvous 
of the contrahandistas. The trade raged with great fury from 
1830 to 1850, when the public mind became suddenly aroused 
from its torpid state on the subject, and the trade came 
suddenly to an end. In 1850, in accordance with the En- 
glish treaty, the government of Brazil instituted measures to 
prevent the landing of slaves on its shores ; and so vigorously 
and successfully were those measures carried out, that in 
three years the slave trade was completely suppresse'd. For 
many years the importation of negro slaves into Brazil had 
averaged 50,000 per annum. In 1840, the number reached 
100,000. In 1853, there was not a single disembarkation. In 
1856, a slaver, cruising along the coast with a cargo of 
negroes, did not succeed in selling a single slave, though^ she 
touched at five different points. 

The great aiW sudden change that has recently taken place 
in Brazil, relative not only to the slave trade but to the slave 
labor in the country, is very remarkable, and preeminently 
significant of the rapid decline and speedy downfall of com- 
mercial slavery on the American continent. 

Says Mr. Fletcher, in his interesting work, " Brazil and 
the Brazilians,^^ " Slavery is doomed in Brazil." 

It is easy to perceive that the institution has but a sickly 
existence in the public mind in Brazil, and that the better 



241 

quality and greater economy of free labor are rapidly gaining 
on slave labor in that vast empire. 

We give an extract from the Mexican Papers, No. 4, page 
164, which properly comes in here : 

" By the Braziliaa law, a slave can, at auy time, appear before a magistrate, 
have his price fixed, and purchase his freedom. There is a system of coloniza- 
tion in progress, intended to supply the gradually diminishing quantity of 
slave labor, and the statesmen of the empire are said to be devoting much time 
and attention to discover the best means of promoting immigration. Germany, 
Portugal, the Azores and Madeira are constantly supplying laborers, attracted 
by the prospect which Brazil holds out to them, and there seems to be no doubt 
that the free African population will eventually fully suffice for these occupa- 
tions in a tropical country for which the white race is necessarily unfitted. 

" For more than three hundred years, the entire agricultural and manufac- 
turing interests of Brazil, from north to south, from east to west, have been 
based on slave labor. The institution of slavery has entered more thoroughly 
into the industrial system of Brazil than it has into that of the United States. 
Natural causes favor the system of slave labor in Brazil more than they do in 
the United States, and though the number of slaves in the former country 
reaches 3,000,000, the institution of slavery is steadily and surely coming to an 
end in that empire." 

The rapid decline of commercial slavery in Brazil, without 
abolition societies, abolition journals, or any of that peculiar 
abolition venom which infects the northern part of this 
country, is a subject worthy of profound reflection. Neither 
abolitionists nor slavery propagandists can find any comfort 
in Brazil. Nature and the laws of society are working out 
the problem of slavery in that country, in a manner not at 
all favorable to the peculiar ideas or interests of the extreme 
wing of either of the two great political parties in this 
country. 

Left to herself, uncursed by an army of howling abolition 
fanatics, and knowing nothing of licentious liberty in politics, 
Brazil, that vast empire, which, perhaps, fills the blackest 
space in the great black page of American history, is rapidly 
emerging from the dark past, and apparently entering upon 
a grand and prosperous future. 

The government of Brazil finds it extremely difficult to 



242 

obtain an accurate census of the population of the country, 
particularly of the aboriginal portion. This class in the in- 
terior are very suspicious that taking their number has some- 
thing to do with taxation or enlistment for soldiers ; and while 
they will assist in obtaining an account of the deaths that 
take place, they will fight before allowing a register of births 
to be kept, or anything, in fact, to indicate the names, num- 
bers, and condition of the living. 

The following is the government estimate of the popula- 
tion in Brazil, in 1856. 



White population 2,000,000 

Free mixed do. 
Mulattoes, etc. 

Civilized aboriginal do 800,000 

Mixed slave do 600,000 

African slave do 2,600,000 



I . 1,121,000 



1,121,000 

The population of Brazil has materially changed its rela- 
tive proportions since 1856. 

Mr. Fletcher mentions as a striking fact " that emigrants 
did not begin to arrive from Europe by thousands until 
1852. In 1850-51, the slave trade was annihilated, and in 
the succeeding year commenced the present comparatively 
vigorous colonization. Each year the number of colonists is 
increasing." 

The free white population must have largely increased, 
while the slave population, diminished by the annihilation of 
the slave trade, emancipation, etc., in equal, if not greater pro- 
portion. The aggregate population of Brazil must be more 
than 9,000,000, and of this, the slave population can scarcely 
reach 3,000,000 5 and unless some unforeseen and unfortu- 
nate change takes place, this disproportion between the free 
and slave population of the country will continue and 
speedily extinguish the latter. 



243 



GUIANA. 

British Guiana.— Slavery abolislied in 1834. See British 

West Indies, page 247. 

Population, whites, 96,467; negroes, 14,251; Creoles, 7,682. 

French Guiana.— Slavery abolished in French Guiana, 
1848. See French West Indies, page 253. 

Population, 17,625. 

Dutch Guiana.— Slavery aboUshed by the Dutch in 1851, 
but as a compensation to the owners, the negroes were to 
work as apprentices till the year 1863. 

Population : whites, 12,000 ; negroes, 40,000. 

SLAVERY IN CANADA. 

On commencing this publication, we addressed a com- 
munication to a friend in Canada, requesting him to give 
such information as he might be able to obtain respecting the 
original status and extent of the institution of slavery iu 
Canada, and its abolition, for publication in our pages.^ These 
Inquiries, it appears, have brought out a very interesting his- 
torical sketch of slavery as it existed in Canada, and its abo- 
lition, in the Toronto Patriot, which we publish as a valuable 
historical record pertinent to our subject. We also publish 
a private communication on the same subject, 

R. Hadfield, Esq., of Buffalo, and other gentlemen in 
Canada, to whom we are indebted for this information, will 
please accept our thanks. 

The communications were received too late to have place 
in their regular geographical order. 

From the Toronto Patriot. 

" There are thousands of persons iu Canada who would be insulted if told that 
there are points, connected with the history of this country, on which they are 
not well informed; and who are scarcely conscious that slavery ever existed in 
Canada, If they know the general fact, they probably conclude rather that the 
slavery was permissible in Canada than that it ever existed here. They would 
be astounded if told that slavery existed in Canada for more than a century ; 
and yet such is the fact. The Montreal Historical Society, in two of its livraisons, 
has collected the principal documents which bear on Vesdavage en Canada. 



244 

" It was ill tlie year of tlie English revolution, 1688, that the first steps were 
taken towards the introduction of slavery into Canada, Messieurs de Denon- 
vii,i,E, Governor, and de Chami'ignv, Intendant of Canada, addressed the Frenclj 
Secretary of State on the desirability of introducing slavery into Canada. The 
scarcity and dearness of laborers and domestic servants were represented as so 
great as to ruin any one who undertook any enterprise. The best means of 
remedying this state of tilings was represented to be the introduction of negro 
slaves. Next year, 1689, the minister replied that His Majesty thought it 
would be well for the inhaliitants of Canada to introduce negroes to cultivate 
the soil ; at the same time a fear was expressed that if negroes were brought 
from a climate so different they would perish, and the project would thus be 
found to be useless. Under the Coutume de Paris, negroes had been treated as 
chattels in the French West India islands; and it was decided, in 1705, that they 
were to be regarded in the same light in Canada. The non-slaveholding portion of 
the population, even at this early day, used to instill abolition ideas into the minds 
of the slaves; and frequently enticed them to leave their masters. On the 13th 
April, 1109, an ordinance, directed against this practice, was passed. This ordi- 
nance declared it to be the good pleasure of His Majesty that ' all Panis and 
Negroes who had been purchased, and who might in future be purchased, should 
be the property of those by whom they were purchased, as being their slaves.' 
Panis* — savages, we are told, thus named, whose nation is far from Canada — and 
negroes were forbidden to leave their masters, and whoever ' debauched ' them 
with ideas of liberty were made liable to a fine of fifty livres. Individual 
holders of slaves occasionally granted them their liberty; and on the 1st Sept., 
1736, an ordinance was passed laying down a form to be followed in such 
cases. In 1748, an arret of the Council of the King was passed at Quebec, 
declaring the exclusive property of His Majesty all slaves who escape from 
British to French territory. In 1686, a treaty had been concluded at London, 
between England and France, in which, among other things, it was stipulated 
that the subjects of each country, in America, should not entice away the slaves 
belonging to the subjects of the other. This was three or four years before 
slaves were introduced into Canada ; but they existed in the French West 
Indies and the British colonies on the main land. In the capitulation of Mon- 
treal, 1760, it was provided ' that the negroes and Panis of both sexes should 
remain in their quality of slaves, in possession of the French and Canadians to 
whom they belonged;' and their owners were to be ' free to keep them in their 
service in the colony or to sell them.' They might also conthiue to bring them 
up in the Roman Catholic religion. 

" Wherever slavery exists there will be desertions ; and even in these early 
times, persons were willing to facilitate such escapes. In 1732, a French cap- 
tain, Le Sieur Joaxxe, brought to Canada a slave whom he had engaged as a 
sailor ; and while the vessel was there the slave escaped. He was found after 
a while in the parish of St. Augustin, where he was demanded ; but we are 

* Panis is the generic name for all Indians or half-breed Indian slaves — not for any dis- 
tinct tribe or nalion. 



245 

told in an ordinance of Intendaut Hocquart, February 8, 11M, 'that some 
evil disposed persons facilitated the escape of the said slave.' The captain applied 
to the government, who issued an order for the arrest of the fugitive, wherever he 
might be ; all militia officers were ordered to assist in the arrest, and an arbi- 
trary fine was denounced against whoever should facilitate his escape or conceal 
him. The spirit of revenge sometimes fired the breasts of Canadian slaves. A 
negress, the slave of Madame Fraxcheville, who had been purchased in one of 
the neighboring English colonies, set fire to her mistress' house, on the 11th of 
April, 1734 ; by which a part of the town of Montreal was burnt, and for 
which the slave was hanged. 

" At least one Canadian newspaper, which still exists, used to contain adver- 
tisements of slaves for sale ; very similar to advertisements which may now bo 
any day read in the journals of the Southern States. The Quebec Gazette, 
of March 18, 1184, contained, among its advertisements, this notice : Tor 
sale. A negress, now in town. For price, address Madame Perrault.' And 
in the number of March 25, of the same year : ' For sale. A negro about 
tweuty-five years of age, who has had the smallpox ;' and who v^^as, therefore, 
in future, safe from that disease. ' For full particulars inquire of the printer.' 
Negroes taken in battle, after the conquest of Canada, were not treated as 
prisoners of war, but were taken to Montreal and sold. There is a deposition 
to this effect, dated July 16, 118S. 

" As the French law had given a monopoly of the slave trade in the French 
colonies to French vessels, an act of the British Parliament was passed in 1*190, 
by which it was provided that ' subjects of the United States ' might remove 
to Canada, and import their negroes with them in British vessels. 

" One of the first uses that Upper Canada made of the legislative powers 
conferred on it in 1791, was to put an' end to the importation of slaves ; to 
provide that all the children of slaves thereafter born in the province should be 
entitled to their freedom at the age of twenty-five years, and that no person 
should be bound to service for a longer term than nine years. The slaves then 
in the province were not liberated, but continued in their servile condition to 
the end of their lives. This was in 1793, two years after the passing of the 
Constitution Act. At one stroke the slave-trade was ' arrested, so far as' 
Upper Canada was concerned, and slavery gradually abolished, without com- 
pensation to the masters, who must have been very few in i^umber. Long- 
after it was the boast of England that a slave became free as soon as he set 
foot on English soil, slavery continued in some of the colonies ; and even a 
slave who obtained his freedom by being taken to England, suffered a reinte- 
gration of his servile condition if taken to one of the slave colonies of the 
empire. This reproach did not attach to Upper Canada. It was not till 1807 
that the Imperial Parliament abolished the slave-trade, so far as it had power 
to do so ; for the prohibition could of course only extend to British subjects. 

" Upper Canada prohibited the importation of slaves long before any nation 
had abandoned the slave-trade. In 1793, a bill was introduced into the Legis- 
lature of Lower Canada, ' tending to the abolition of slavery ;' but the result 
was that it was 'laid on the table.' In 1798, a negress called Charlotte, 



246 

belonging to Miss Jaxe Cook, deserted ; and being brought before a magis- 
trate, was committed to prison ; but she was set at liberty, on a writ of habeas 
corpus, by the Chief Justice of the Court of King's Bench. Another ncgress, 
being imprisoned for the same cause, was set at liberty by the Chief Justice. 
The peculiarity, in this case, seemed to be that she had been purchased in 
Albany by a person living in Montreal, named Elias Siirrn, instead of being 
brought in as part of settlers' effects. Montreal rose against these decisions ; 
and petitioned the Legislature to pass a fugitive slave law, or in default of 
that, to follow out its inclination, and abolish slavery in the Province. As 
late as the year 1800, 'divers inhabitants of the district of Montreal' peti- 
tioned the Legislature ' to pass an act, declaring that slavery exists under cer- 
tain conditions, in this Province, and ^investing perfectly in tlie masters the 
property of their negroes ; and moreover, that the House pass such laws and 
regulations for the government of slaves as in its wisdom it shall see fit.' Ou 
motion of M. Papixeau, the elder, this petition was referred to a committee of 
five, who reported that, in their opinion, there ' existed reasonable grounds for 
passing a law to regulate the condition of slaves, to limit the term of slavery, 
and to prevent the introduction of slaves into the Province.' Mr. CirrHBEKX, a 
member of the committee, accordingly introduced such a bill. In 1800 and in 
1801, this bill was before the House ; but we hear nothing of it after it got 
into committee of the whole. In 1803, the same member introduced a bill ' to 
remove all doubt concerning slavery in this Province, and for other jjurposes ;' 
but it was sent to a special committee, and we hear no more of it. Several 
suits were brought in the courts of Lower Canada, arising out of questions of 
property in slaves. Slavery was legal in Lower Canada till abolished by the 
Imperial Act, in 1834." 

"TonoxTO, loth March, 1861. 

" My dear Sir : 

"In reply to your questions relating to slavery in 
Canada, I beg to say that up to July, 1793, slavery existed 
in Upper Canada in the same way as in other British colonies, 
but not to any very great extent. In that year an act was 
passed by the Provincial Legislature, prohibiting the further 
introduction of slaves, and providing that every child born 
of slave parents after the passing of the act should be main- 
tained by the owner of the parents till the child attained the 
age of 25 years, and that it was then entitled to freedom. 
And the birth of all children born of slave parents after that 
date, was required to be registered by the owner under a 
penalty in case of neglect. Persons are now living in 
Toronto who held slaves when the above act was passed. 
Several wills have passed through my hand, in examining 



247 

titles, by wiiich slaves are manumitted. The law on the 
subject in Canada at present is the same as the law of England. 

•'Tours sincerely." 

This completes the history of the decline of commercial 
slavery in the Spanish. Portuguese. English. French, and 
Dutch possessions on the American continent. 



DECLINE OF COMMERCIAL SLAVEEY I^ T: 
Da)IA ISLAS^DS. 



^IST 



BRITIS: 



In 1833, it was enacted in the British Parliament that 
slavery shovdd cease in all the British c-olonies on and after 
August 1st, 1834. 

The following is a table of the slave colonies, with the 
number of slaves redstered as belonging to each : 



Bermuda . 

Bahamas . 

Jamaica 

Honduras . 

Tirgin Isles 

Antigua 

Montserrat 

2vevTS 

St. Christopher 

Pomtnioa . 

Barbadoes 

Grenada 

Sr. Tincent 

Tobago 

St. Lucia . 

Trinidad 

British Guiana, on the mainland 

Cape of Good Hope (Africa') 

Mauritius .... 



v.TOo 
311.693 

5.1*2 

29.5oT 

6.355 

S.T?3 

S3.S0T 
23.536 

ii.o£: 

13.o4S 
22.359 
S4.915 
3>.42T 
6S.615 



TS1.69T 



In the bill of emancipation, it was provided that the slaves 
should labor as apprentices till 1840, when they were to be 



248 

set at liberty. But a cry was raised against the duration of 
the apprenticeship, and the term was reduced to 1838, when 
the blacks became universally free. 

The government appropriated £20,000,000, which gave 
an average of about $127 for each slave, as a remunera- 
tion to the owners. 

This action on the part of the British government in abo- 
lishing negro slavery in her colonies, by which 781,697 
negro slaves were liberated, is one of the most prominent 
events that mark the decline of commercial slavery in Ame- 
rica. For nearly fifty years, fanatics and humanitarians had 
agitated the subject on the score of humanity, and for the 
same period, political economists had done the same thing on 
the score of economy. 

English statesmen succeeded in figuring it out at last to 
their satisfaction, that it would be better for English interests, 
and worse for the interests of other countries, more particu- 
larly the United States, if the English colonies changed their 
system of slave labor to that of free labor. And so the deed 
was done under the auspices of humanity and philanthrop}'; 
but the measures of the English government were imperfect 
and hasty ; hence, the immediate result was serious ill to the 
blacks themselves, and very great damage to the material 
interests of the colonies and of England. The industrial 
and social status of masses of negro slaves cannot be suddenly 
changed without injury to all concerned. They must pass 
through the transition state. 

A decided change for the better, it is said, has recently 
commenced in the British West India islands, especially 
Jamaica. 

Pending the writing of the foregoing, the following came 
to our notice : 

SLAVERY COOLIE LABOR. 

From tlio London Times, March 1. 

The public sentiment upon the subject of slavery and the slave trade se^ms at last 
to have entered upon its rational, and, as we may hope, its permanent state. A 
hundred and fifty years ago, we iccre fighting for the privilege of conveying negroes 
over sea. Having obtained all wc desired on that score, we then apathetically 



249 

pocketed the profits, and positively refused to thinii of how those profits were obtained. 
A genei'ation later, and ice grew uncomfortable in our gains, and our ears tingled 
and our consciences grew uneasy as the wails and groans of the stifled negroes came 
home to us with perpetual and importunate repetition. We were some years 
awakening, and Wilberforee and Clarkson, and all the fellow-laborers of these 
men, had much to do thoroughly to arouse us out of that uneasy state of som- 
nolence. But at last we did awake, and we awoke in a frenzy. The state of 
this country, when the full guilt of slavery came upon it, was nothing less than a 
frenzy of remorse. Before that passion everything went down. Many men yet 
living can remember when George Canning failed to obtain, as a concession, the 
abolition of the power to flog female slaves, and young men can remember when 
it was thought little less than blasphemy to suggest that even a black man 
might very reasonably be expected to do some labor. Between these two 
extremes the public sentiment has violently vibrated. In the paroxysm of the 
first remorse, the guilty Englishman saw slavery in everything black. The phantom, 
of that complaining negro was ever before him, and he would shtt his eyes and 
scream if you did hut talk to him of a negro at work. He sacrificed everything to 
his sore, quivering conscience. He was ever upon t/ie watch to find out something 
more to sacrifice. He sacrificed his great West Indian interest not only reck- 
lessly, but with an ostentatious eagerness. He cast his own twenty millions 
down to rid himself of the remaining evidences of his crime as penitently as 
Judas offered the thirty pieces of silver to the Jewish authorities. He poured 
forth not only his own money and the money of those over whom he held 
influence, but he lavished the life of his own kith and kin to appease that 
accusing conscience. On the coast of Africa, in the perfidious sunshine of ' the 
white man's grave,' amid the beautiful and deadly luxuriance of a tropical vege- 
tation, he placed his own countrymen to pine and die that he might comfort 
himself with the satisfaction that he had atoned for the great sin he had com- 
mitted against the black man. For a full generation there was nothing he 
would not pay, and nothing he would not vicariously endure. 

" Every great excitement has its recoil. The generation of crime has been fol- 
lowed by the generation of remorse ; the generation of remorse is folloived by the 
generation of reflection. We who now occupy the earth are less affected by the 
crimes of grandfathers or the remorse of our fathers. We begin to fed less affright 
at this spectre of the writhing negro. We have purged ourselves completely of the 
guilt of his abduction and his other wrongs, and we can feel ourselves entitled to look 
upon any other man who has succeeded to the common obligation of eating bread by 
the sweat of his brow. The flood tide, which had flowed upward, roarinp- and 
foaming like the ' bore' of some bell-shaped firth, retained its power of flowing 
after the great impulse had ceased; but years ago there were some who ven- 
tured to say that, after all, the earth must be tilled, and that the great law of 
nature which doomed man to labor must apply to the black man as well as to 
the white. Their voices, however, had little chance of being heard, for there 
was enough of vehemence in our old convictions to urge us not only to persuade 
but to coerce all the rest of the world to feel as we felt and to be penitent as 



250 

wc were penitent, "We lavished our money, we concentrated our efforts, we 
exerted all our influence, we compromised our political relations, we coerced the 
weak, and we went to the verge of making war upon the strong, in order to 
bring the rest of the world to join with us in our crusade against the traffic in 
mankind. iW'i-cr was there in the history of our race so magnificent and so 
disinterested an enthusiasm. When the great book of history shall become so 
vast that far-off generations shall be unable to seize any other than the tallest 
events in the great vista from which they emerge, this work of England must 
stand out and challenge admiration, as something to which the story of past 
ages has no parallel. We English alone have been hearty in the cause. We 
have shamed some by our example, we have bought others by our largesses, 
and we have deterred others by our power; but of all the peoples of the earth, 
we alone have labored, with gold and with arras, for no other object than for 
that point of conscience which is to us our ' idea ' — to put down slavery and the 
slave trade. Yet we have not succeeded. While we have been starving our 
own colonists, and sufiFering our West Indian possessions to return to jungle in 
very fanaticism, suspecting that slavery must lurk under every contract for 
labor, other countries have eluded their engagements, or have openly resented 
our interference. Portugal has required all our attention to keep her at all up 
to the mark ; Spain has impudently repudiated all her promises ; France has 
changed the name, but not the substance; and America has continued the 
odious traffic at sea under the pretext of a jealousy of her national honor, and 
has, to her misfortune, nursed slavery at home and acknowledged it as a 
domestic institution. After all our sacrifices and all our efforts, the most zealous 
opponents of slavery were fain to come down to the House of Commons on 
Tuesday night, and to propose a resolution, ' That the means hitherto employed 
by this country for the suppression of the African slave trade have failed to 
accomplish that object.' 

" Jfow that we can calmly review all that has been done, we find that we 
have been led away by our generous impulses and have wasted our strength 
uselessly. Like the charge at Balaklava, ' C'est magnifique, mais ce. n'est pas la 
gu-erre,' it was wonderful, but it was altogether unpracticable. Great as we 
are, we are not powerful enough to coerce the world. Strong as we are, we must 
submit to the laws which universally influence human conduct. After all our vain 
efforts ice are reduced at last to admit that we must be content to attract mankind by 
their interests, and not pretend to govern them by fear. France claps her hand 
upon her sword if we presume to ask whether she has slaves or free laborers in 
the hold of the Charles-et-Georges. Spain laughs at us if we pretend to pre- 
vent her from importing as many slaves as she may want in Cuba. America 
threatens war if we attempt to liberate the live cargo of a vessel covered with 
the stars and stripes. We have discovered at last that comviercial competition will 
do what fleets and armies are utterly incompetent to perform. Not very long ago, 
when we, from time to time, urged the claims of our West Indian colonies to 
some substituted free labor for the slave labor they had lost, we were met by 
the indignation of our anti-slavery societies. Perhaps there are some remnants 



251 

of that snperstition, which is a great relLrion degenerated, wherein the same 
dogmas are still repeated ; but on Tuesdav night the modem anti-slarerT men 
came down to ask the Hoose of Commons to beliere that ' the true remedr is 
to be found, not in countenancing immigration into countries were slavery exists, 
but in augmenting the working population in countries in which slavery has 
been abolished -^ and * that the failnre has mainly arisen from oar having 
endeavored almost exclusively to prevent the supply of slaves instead of to 
check the demand for them.' At last kh art condesanding to nascn u^on slacery 
and the dare trade as vie reas&n upon other human affairs. At last we are coming 
down fr>m cnir high notions of destroying aniftMrig vce do not HJ:e by the sicordand 
the atrtnon-shot — although there are some fanatics, as the debate showed, who sfiil 
lean uj^'ii these means — and are intent upon humbling ourselves to the oymmcn^lace 
notion that the lest way of destroying an ohjedumahle system, of labor is to undersell 
it. Africa, populous as it is, is not so populous as China, nor is it so populous 
as the coast of India. Africa, necessitous as the people may be, is not so 
necessitoos as the Far East. There we have a hungry civilization which may 
be molded to our purpt^es by good treatment more cheaply than the savagery 
of Africa can be oppressed by c-oercion. Both in India and in China we hare 
the materials tor a competition which may render the slave trade an extinct, 
because an unprofitable, traffic. The old anti-slavery party wiU probably for 
some time still oppose all white emigration, unless it should compel their free 
black proteges to work by the competition that emigration must create in the 
labor market: but we are happily getting beyond this stage of folly, and are 
learning to look upon tliis subject with the eyes of common sense. We hare a 
treaty with China which enables ns to carry to the West net only Ckincmen hit 
their families. We hare lehated so well to them that we hare gained their ccvfi- 
dence. TVhile ether nations may kidnap them hy fens, we can cltain rclunteers by 
thousands ; and if our laws are chserred, and our shipowners and planters an 
honest, we are not far f rem the period when we moy see the prosperity of cfur West 
India colonies restored, and the slare trade extinguished icithout a cruiser or a fort 
an the coast of Africa, and without the sacrifice of even anc-ther miUio* from the 
British trtasuryp 

There are some remarkable points in the preceding article 
from the T^ondoji Times. Its confession and self-abasement 
for the national sin of slavery, is perfectly just and proper. 
There are several other confessions and acknowledgments par- 
ticularly pertinent to our facts and line of argument. For 
example : " Great as we are. we are not powerful enough to 
coerce the world. Strong as we are, we must submit to the 
laws which universally influence human conduct.'' The true 
interpretation of this, we believe, is : Almighty as we con- 
sider ourselves, we have made a slight mistake in our aboli- 



252 

tion policy, and now we had better be regulated by the laws 
of God. 

We accord with the entire article, except in that high- 
wrought picture of national frenzy arising from remorse for 
the sins of a past generation, and the attempt to clothe the 
present with a very gaudy robe of self-righteousness. We 
consider all that a very pretty piece of romance, thrown in 
by the romantic writer to relieve the dark picture. 

But impartial, matter-of-fact history must exhibit the 
policy of England in abolishing slavery and the slave trade, 
as a mixture of one-third fanaticism, and two-thirds pure 
selfishness. When the English abolished slavery, does any 
one believe they ever dreamed that the act would starve the 
colonists and cause their " West India possession to return to 
jungle?" to use the expression of the "London Times." 
No ; the English thought their own fair possessions would 
bloom and prosper with free negroes, while those of others, 
remaining under slaver}', would return to jungle. In all this 
matter, the fanatics worked upon the disposition of English 
statesmen to leave no means untried to prevent the extension 
of American interest and influence. From 1783, to within 
ten years, this feeling of jealousy on the part of England 
has ever been prominent in English councils. The idea 
that in abolishing the slave trade and liberating the negro 
slaves in her West India colonies, American interests would 
receive a heavy blow, was the deepest and strongest motive 
England had for so doing. It was but the reflex of the 
idea entertained by the French Jacobin convention of 1794, 
of the effect the liberation of the negro slaves in the French 
West India colonies, would have on England. 

We are surprised that in this enlightened age, any sound 
writer should so naively assert that any generation of 
Englishmen was ever aroused to a frenzy of remorse for 
the crimes of the i^revioxis generation. The toughness of 
national consciences is too well understood in these days, 
to admit of any such millennial idea. Wliile we fully appre- 
ciate the several noble qualities found in the English character, 



253 

we are among those who doubt whether the phantom of a 
negro ever troubled the digestion or the slumbers of English- 
men, individually or collectively. 

FRENCH WEST INDIES. 

" Lancons la liberty dans les colonies; c^est aujourd-hui que 
V anglais est mort .'"' thundered forth Danton in the French 
convention of 1794. The Jacobin agitation of the idea of 
thrusting liberty into the blacks of the French colonies, in 
1794 — equivalent to the abolitionism of our day — caused the 
blacks in the French island of St. Domino-o to thrust the 
knife into the whites, their masters. At that period there 
were more neOTo slaves in the French than in the Enolish 
colonies, and such were the peculiar relations then existing 
between France and England, and their relative positions, 
that the Jacobin idea of giving immediate freedom to negro 
slaves in the French colonies, was based mainly on the 
opinion that the eclat of the act, the stronger hold it would 
give France upon her colonies, and the uprising it would 
cause among the negro slaves in the British colonies, was 
destined to prove the final blow under which the power of 
England would succumb to that of France. This policy of 
the Jacobins was murderous rather than humane, and in the 
terrible St. Domingo massacre, they were speedily paid back 
in coin upon which they did not count. 

The French convention of 1794 proclaimed the liberty of 
the blacks in the French colonies, but as soon as Xapoleon 
came into power, he annulled this proclamation and caused 
the blacks to be retained as slaves. 

We have already narrated how France abolished the slave 
trade in 1819. 

In 1840 the subject of emancipation in the French colonies 
was again vigorously agitated. At this time, France had lost 
her most valuable West India possession, St. Domingo, with 
other smaller islands ; and the negro slaves in her colonies 
were reduced from nearly 1,000,000 to 250,000. In 1840, 
the French government (Louis Philippe) appointed a commis- 



254 

sion to inquire into the expediency of abolishing slavery in 
the colonies, and in 1843, this commission, at the head of 
which was the Due de Broglie, brought forth a report of im- 
mense volume. It covered 3,450 pages, and contained a vast 
array of information on the expediency of emancipation. 

Here the matter rested until March 4th, 1848, when the 
Provisional Government of the French Republic decreed, that a 
commission should be instituted by the Provisionary Ministry 
of Marine, to prepare, in the shortest time possible, an act of 
immediate emancipation in all the colonies of the republic. 

On the 27th April, 1848, the Provisional Government pro- 
mulgated the decree of emancipation. It commenced with 
the following preamble : 

" Considering that slavery is a crime against humanity ; that in destroying 
the free will of man, the natural principle of right and justice is suppressed ; 
that it is a flagrant violation of the republican dogma of liberty, equality, and 
fraternity." 

The decree then says : 

" Art. 1. Slavery shall be abolished in all the colonies of French possessions, 
two months after the promulgation of this decree in each of them. 

" The apprenticeship system in Senegal is abolished. 

" The buying and selling of slaves is positively and absolutely interdicted. 

" Art. 5. The National Assembly shall regulate the quota of indemnity due 
to each of the colonies. 

" Art. 6. Colonies purified of slavery shall be represented in the National 
Assembly." 

The National Assembly promulgated the law of indemnity 
January, 1849. 

According to this law, the sum of 6,000,000 francs was 
decreed to be paid to the colonies pro rata, in money, thirty 
days after its promulgation. Also, the sum of 6,000,000 
francs in stock, bearing five per cent, interest, to be divided 
among the colonies pro rata. 

The amount of 12,000,000, half cash, and half five per cent, 
stock, was allotted to the colonies in the following proportions, 
according to the number of slaves liberated in each, under the 
decree : 



255 





Francs. 


Negroes liberated. 


Martinique . . . . . 


. 3,015,m.60 


60,255 


Guadaloupe and dependencies . 


. 3,894,329.t0 


77,886 


Guiana (on the main) 


745,143.76 


14,902 


La Reunion (Isle of Bourbon) 


. 4,110,400.50 


82,208 


Senegal and dependencies (Africa) .. 


211,007.32 


4,220 


Nosseb6 and St. Marie (Africa) 


23,347.12 


466 




12,000,000.00 


239,937 



Thus 239,937 negro slaves were liberated, and slavery was 
abolished in all the French "colonies. 



DANISH ISLANDS. 



Christian YIII., King of Denmark, in the year 1847, 
enacted certain laws for the complete emancipation of all the 
slaves in the Danish islands of St. Thomas, Santa Cruz, and 
St. Johns. 

From the 28th of July of that year, it was ordered that all 
children born of those held in bondage should be free ; and 
also that at the end of twelve years, slavery should entirely 
cease. 

^he next year, 1848, the slaves in Santa Cruz broke out 
in insurrection, under the pressure of which the Governor- 
General issued a proclamation, in which slavery was imme- 
diately abolished, and the negroes declared free. 



SWEDISH island. 

Emancipation was proclaimed on the small island of St. 
Bartholomew, October 9th, 1847. 



* We have not been able to obtain the exact number of slaves liberated by the 
French decree of emancipation. This table is based on the fact that 500 francs or one 
hundred dollars was the amount allowed for each slave liberated. The figures must be 
very nearly accurate. 



256 



HAYTI, OR ST. DOMINGO. 



The French part of St. Domhigo proclahned its indepen- 
dence in 1800, and in 1803 the French were expelled, and it 
is now a republic of free negroes. 

The Spanish part of the island is also a republic, with 
president, legislature, assembly and council. Slavery is 
extinct. 



SPANISH ISLANDS CUBA. 

The island of Cuba is the only place on earth where the 
commercial slave-trade exists. Tolerated by the authorities 
of the island, winked at by the government of Spain, the 
trade flourishes, half clandestinel}'^, though not to so great an 
extent as in former years. 

The number of Africans landed in Cuba yearly cannot be 
stated with accuracy, but it is said to be between six and ten 
thousand. The Spanish government has recently made known 
its intention to station a fleet on the African coast, and use 
its best endeavors to suppress the trade. Whether Spain is 
sincere in these expressed intentions, remains to be seen. 

The importation of coolies from China, to labor as appren- 
tices, has been resorted to recently in Cuba, and it ^ said 
with satisfactory results. The apprenticeship system is de- 
nounced in certain quarters, as no better than slavery. We 
do not consider the discussion of this point pertinent to our 
subject. 

The sudden failure of industry in the British West India 
Colonies, by reason of abolition, created at once an enlarged 
demand for slave labor in Cuba, principally to cultivate the 
sugar-cane. The effect in Louisiana was the same ; hence, 
the strong hold slavery now has in one or more localities, can 
be traced directly, in part, to the hasty and injudicious man- 
ner in which England abolished slavery in her colonies. 



257 

The population of Cuba was, in 

Whites. Free Blacks. Slaves. Total 

I'lTS.... 170,3^0 

1811.... 551,998 

1854.... 501,988 116,647 330,425 .... 1,009,060 

Except in the importation of coolies, the increase of free 
blacks and the expressed intention of the Spanish government 
to suppress the slave-trade, there are no indications of a 
weakening of the system of slave labor in the island of 
Cuba. But we may have evidence of a change in this 
respect at an early day. 

PORTO RICO. 

The island of Porto Rico is owned by Spain, and governed 
by a Captain-General. It is 100 miles long by 35 to 40 
wide. The staple product of the island is sugar. Tobacco 
is raised in small quantities ; also cotton of the best quality. 
The exports are $8,000,000 per annum. 

The facts relating to slavery on this island are interesting. 

The slave-trade was abolished by Spain in 1822, and the 
contraband trade with this island has ceased. No slaves have 
been landed on the island for ^ome years. In 1859 an 
attempt was made to land a cargo of negroes, but, through the 
watchfulness and activity of the authorities, the parties were 
detected and arrested; and they are now suffering the penalty. 

According to the law, a slave in Porto Rico can go before 
a judge, appointed for the purpose, obtain his appraisement, 
and purchase his freedom at the rate thus fixed. 

Four years ago, Pezue^a, the Captain-General, started the 
project of freeing one slave per annum from a certain fund of 
the church. This was done with th^ idea that it would form 
the basis of a plan of general emancipation. This shows the 
animus. 

The comfort and safety of the slaves are guarded by law. 
They can complain of maltreatment, on the part of their 



258 

masters, to a special judge, and, on conviction, the master is 
fined or imprisoned. 

The entire population of the island is estimated at 600,000. 
Of this number ten per cent., or 50,000 are slaves, and 
125,000 are free blacks. 

The free blacks are, as a class, orderly, and to a certain 
extent, industrious. Some of the sugar haciendas are worked 
entirely with free blacks ; others by slaves and free blacks 
together, and the balance by slaves entirely. 

The number of slaves is gradually diminishing. The 
planters generally have come to the conclusion that slave 
labor is dearer than free labor, and, under this belief, the 
laws and public opinion are favoring the emancipation of the 
blacks. 

DECLINE OF COMMERCIAL SLAVERY IX THE UNITED 
STATES OF NORTH AMERICA. 

In speaking of the decline of commercial slavery in what 
have been known as the United States, we use the compara- 
tive term. In the more rapid increase of free territory, the 
greater increase of free population and the products of free 
labor, we recognize the inevitable law of progress before 
which the institution of slavery is surely and rapidly declin- 
ing, and will soon disappear. 

When the Federal Constitution was framed and adopted in 
1787, the following relative proportion of free and slave ter- 
ritory existed in the original States : 

Square Miles. 

Free: Massachusetts, including the territory of Maine, . 42,800 
Slave: Twelve States, 326,691 

The gain of slave territory upon this basis has been as 
follows : 



259 



states. 
Kentucky, 
Tennessee, 
Louisiana, 
Mississippi, 
Missouri, 
Alabama, 
Arkansas, 
Florida, 
Texas, . 



Indian Territory, . . . . 
Total gain slave territory, . 



Admitted into the Union. 


Square Miles 


. 1^92 


3T,680 


. 1196 


44,000 


. 1811 


41,346 


. 1817 


47,151 


. 1821 


65,037 


. 1820 


50.722 


. 1836 


52,198 


. 1836 


59,268 


. 1845 


274,000 



671,402 
71,127 

742,529 



The gain of free territory, upon the same basis, has been 
as follows : 



states. 

New Hampshire, 

Connecticut, . 

Rhode Island, 

"Vermont, 

New Jersey, 

New York, 

Pennsylvania, 

Ohio, . 

Indiana, 

Illinois, 

Michigan, 

Iowa, . 

Wisconsin, 

California, 

Minnesota, 

Oregon, 

Kansas, 

Territories. 

Nebraska, 
Dakotah, 
Utah, . 
Washington, 
New Mexico, 
Arizona. 



Bd into the Union. 


Square Miles. 




8,030 




4,750 




1,200 


1790 


8,000 




6,851 




46,000 




47,000 


1802 


89,964 


1816 


33,809 


1818 


55,409 


1836 


56,243 


1846 


50,914 


1848 


53,924 


1850 


160,000 


1858 


86,000 


1858 


185,000 


1861 


125,283 




335,882 




60,000 




269,170 




123,022 




256,309 




80,000 



2,092,560 



260 



RECAPITULATION. 

Square Miles. 

Original free territory, 42,800 

Gain 2,092,560 



Total free territory, 1860, . . 2,135,360 

Original slave territory, 326,691 

Gain, 671,402 



998,093 
Deduct loss from original slave ten-itory, six States, 123,081 



Total slave territory, 1860, . . . 815,012 

Free territory, 2,135,360 

Slave teiTitory, . • 875,012 



Total gain free territory, . . . 1,260,348 

Thus we find the gain of free over slave territory, since 
the formation of the Federal compact, is 1,260,348 square 
niiles. 

During this period, the free States have increased from one 
to nineteen, while the slave States have lost six and gained 
nine, making a net gain of only three, which, added to the 
original twelve, makes fifteen slave States against nineteen 
free States; leaving nearly a million of square miles of free 
territory out of which to make free States. 

The census of 1860 gives 27,649,535 free population, and 
3,999,353 slaves, which is one slave to seven free, a gain of 
free population over slave population, since 1790, of more than 
sixty per cent. The increase of slave population during the 
last decade has been but little over twenty per cent., the 
lowest rate of increase since the formation of the govern- 
ment. 

The following is a statement showing the absolute free and 
slave populations in the slave States at the last three enume- 
rations : 



261 



states. 


Free Population. 


Slave Population. 


1840. 


1850. 


I860. 


1840. 


I860. 


I860. 


Delaware. 

Maryland 

Virginia 

N. Carolina 

S. Carolina 

Georgia 

Florida 

Alabama 

Mississippi 

Louisiana 

Texas 


75,480 

380,282 
790,710 
507,601 
267,360 
410,448 
28,760 
337,224 
180,440 
183,959 


. 89,242 
492,666 
949,133 
580,491 
283,523 
524,503 
48,135 
428,779 
296,648 
272,953 
154,431 
163,797 
594,622 
771,424 
763,258 


110,548 
646,583 

1,097,373 
679,965 
308,186 
615,336 
81,885 
520,444 
407,551 
354,245 
415.999 
331,710 

1,085,590 
920,077 
859,528 


2,605 
89,737 
449,087 
245,817 
327,038 
280,944 
25,717 
253,352 
195,211 
168,452 

lV,935 

58,240 
182,258 
183,059 


2,290 
90,386 

472,528 

288,548 

384,984 

381,682 

39,310 

342,844 

309,878 

244,809 

58,167 

47,100 

87,422 

210,981 

239,459 


1,805 
85,382 
495,826 
328,377 
407,185 
467,461 
63,809 
435,473 
479,607 
312,186 
184,956 
109,065 
115,619 
225,490 
287,112 


Arkansas 

Missouri 

Kentucky 

Tennessee 

Total 


77,639 
32>,462 
597,520 
646,151 


4,809,097 


6,412,605 8,435,020 


2,481,622 


3,200,364 


3,999,353 



In 1790, the products of the country were almost entirely 
the result of slave labor, and the exports were principally 
from the Southern States, and these did not reach $5,000,000 
per annum. 

In 1850, the annual value of manufactures in the free 
States was $842,586,058, and the annual value of manufac- 
tures in the slave States was $165,413,027. 

In 1855, the commercial exchanges of the United States 
(imports and exports) were $536,435,719, of which 
$404,368,603 belonged to the free States, and $132,067,216 
t6 the slave States. 

We find these facts in a book known as " Helpefs Impending 
Crisis, ^^ got up and used to frighten the people of the North 
into the belief that it was necessary for the Abolition party 
to obtain the control of the Federal Government, and make' 
war upon the South, in order to arrest the progress of the 
institution of slavery. We believe no one will deny the im- 
portant part this book has played in sustaining the " irre- 
pressible conflict," and stimulating sectional strife. 

Now we take this book (granting that its statistics are 



262 

correct) as the strongest possible evidence that slavery has 
been declining since the Federal Union was formed — that the 
institution is doomed to disappear in the regular order of 
nature at no very distant day. We use this book to prove 
precisely what the Republican demagogues, in their mangling 
of the subject, have attempted to disprove. According to 
the statistics of Helper's book, the free States have been 
gaining on the slave States from the outset, in territory, 
population, manufactures, products, arts, sciences — every- 
thing that constitutes national greatness ; and all this, 
according to its own account, under the statesmen and 
statesmanship of that same South which it so violently and 
so atrociously abuses. * 

From 1828 to 1833, a disposition was manifested in Dela- 
ware, Maryland, Virginia and Kentucky, to adopt measures 
for the abolition of slavery within their limits. But most 
unfortunately, a species of rabid fanaticism, known in these 
days as aholition, made its appearance in our midst, and by 
its unreasonable demands, its bitter invective, sweeping de- 
nunciation, and unnatural, unconstitutional tendencies, raised 
such a general and determined opposition on the part of the 
South, that all hope of any immediate movement tending to 
emancipation in any of the slave States was speedily extin- 
guished. In this abolition movement we see the beginning 
of that treason which has dissevered the Confederacy. 

It can be said, however, that slavery in the State of Dela- 
ware has steadily declined, and is now nearly extinct. In 
1790, this State had 8,887 slaves. In 1850, but 2290 ; and 
the census of 1860 gives only 1,805. 

Slavery in Maryland is also gradually becoming extinct. 
In 1790, the slave population numbered 103,036. The 
census of 1860 gives 85,382 slaves, to 646.583 whites. 

Western Virginia — the mountainous region is gradually 
ridding itself of the negro, and manifesting decided free soil 
proclivities. When the State of Virginia — the proud Old 
Dominion — the mother of Presidents, wakes up to the fact 
that something more honorable and profitable awaits her 



263 

tlian a decaying existence as the mother of negroes — the 
Africa of the slave States — she will shake off the incubus, and 
stand forth in all the glory to which she is entitled from 
ancient and noble associations. 

In Missouri, slavery is also on the decline. The proportion 
of slaves to the whites is less in this State than that of any- 
other State except Delaware. 

The city of St. Louis, the empire city of the West, is already 
a free city. 

In Texas, slavery has but a feeble existence, except in 
what is called Eastern Texas, constituting scarcely one- 
quarter of the State. Texas looks large, very large, on the 
map, but of the 274,000 square miles it contains, at least 
100,000, or more than one-third, is a desert, where neither 
white nor blacks can live. The entire country west of the 
100th meridian, is a dreary waste (except immediately on the 
Rio Grande), that never will be settled. 

South of the River Colorado, and east of the 100th 
meridian, constituting what is known as Western Texas, 
would be free to-day if separated from Eastern Texas. The 
fear that this extensive region would be eventually converted 
into slave states, which convulsed the N'orth when Texas was 
admitted into the Union, will never be realized. 

In view of these great and important facts, it became 
apparent, that the Almighty was working out the abolition 
of slavery in his own good time and manner, and somewhat 
too rapidly for the special designs uf certain abolition fana- 
tics and selfish politicians, whose life-long struggle for spoils 
and power was likely to end in grief, if political success 
should not be speedily attained. It became necessary, there- 
fore, to forestall the Almighty. To this end, a political con- 
vention was held in the city of Pittsburg, August, 1856, to 
organize a party whose object should be to act on the defen- 
sive against the South, to resist the aggressions, the extension 
of slavery, to jtrevent the slaveholding interest from obtain- 
ing permanent control of the Federal Government ! 



264 

This convention gave birth to the republican' party — a 
party which a Clay, a Webster, or other statesmen of past 
days, and whom it was necessary to kill off before such a 
party could be created — would have scorned. 

There is no denying the fact, that the republican party 
of 1856, comprehends the free soil party of 1848, and the 
liberty party of 1844, all having their common foundation 
far back in original abolitionism, under the auspices of which, 
what may be termed venom distilleries were established, in 
the shape of abolition societies, abolition journals, abolition 
tracts, abolition lectures, abolition sermons, etc., and which 
for more than thirty years, distilled their poison into the 
public mind in one unceasing drip. 

On the 26th of October, 1858, the acknowledged creator 
and leader of the republican party, Wm. H. Seward, stood 
up before the people of the North, and declared the principles 
and purposes of the party, as follows : 

" It is an irrepressible conflict between opposing and enduring forces, and it 
means that the United States must and will, sooner or later, become either 
entirely a slaveholding nation, or entirely a free-labor nation. Either the cot- 
ton and rice fields of South Carolina, and the sug-ar plantations of Louisiana 
will ultimately be tilled by free labor, and Charleston and New Orleans become 
marts for legitimate merchandise alone, or else the rye fields and wheat fields 
of Massachusetts and New Yoi'k must again be surrendered by their farmers 
to slave culture, and to the production of slaves, and Boston and New York 
become once more the markets for trade in the bodies and souls of men." 



Based upon such infidel notions as these — such an utter want 
of faith in the overruling power of divine Providence and the 
progress of humanity — abolition, under the name of republi- 
canism, drew a large body of the most respectable and well- 
meaning people of the North, into the belief that the freedom 
of their own soil, and the salvation of the Federal Grovern- 
ment, depended on the success of the republican party in 
I860.* Upon this unnatural, false issue, abolition — livid 
aholition — achieved success, and is now enthroned in Wash- 
ington. 



265 

It was these views, and the fear of abolition success, that 
caused us to remark, in Mexican Papers, No. 3, Sept. 15, 
1860, page 128, as follows : 

" The ' irrepressible conflict ' leaders dread these developments (the decline 
of slavery) more than all else. Mr. Seward feels that they are already begin- 
ning to have their inflaeuce, and he is exerting himself to destroy the effect 
and keep up the sectional flame until after the election in November next. We 
detect this in every speech he makes on his western tour. Mr. Seward has 
clothed himself with an idea — the assumption that he is something like a Divine 
Essence — the spirit of progressive freedom on this continent, and many good 
people bow down to him as such. 

" You who take the opposite ground, and whose business it is, give the 
people light on this, subject. The people need light ! They are ready to 
receive it. Every ray shed does some good, even at this late moment. Follow 
the demagogues and fanatics, and puncture the wickedest political humbug 
that ever cast its dark and threatening shadow over a great and prosperous 
nation." 

That dark and threatening shadow has become a reality. 
The reputed author of the idea of the " irrepressible conflict " 
is President of the United States, and the elaborator of that 
idea is his premier, but — where is our country ? 



General Recapitulaton. 

In the foregoing history of Commercial Slavery in Amer- 
ica, the principal endeavor has been to set forth three points, 
namely : 

First. The rise of Commercial Slavery in America. 

Secofid. The culminating Period of Commercial Slavery in 
America. 

Third. The decline of Commercial Slavery in America. 

In elucidating the first mentioned point, the following facts 
are narrated : 

First. The commencement of the era of Commercial 
Slavery, by the discovery of the west coast of Africa by the 
Portuguese in 1441. 

Second. This discovery of the New World by Columbus in 
1492. 



266 

Third. The destruction of the natives of the West India 
isUxnds, estimated at 4,000,000, by the Spaniards, by which 
a demand for negro slaves was created. 

Fourth. The first importation of negro slaves into Hispani- 
ola by the Spanish in 1501. 

Fifth. The discovery and occupation of the American Con- 
tinent by the commercial nations of Europe — the Spaniards, 
Portuguese, English, French, Dutch, Swedes, Danes, etc. 

Sixth. The enslaving of the aborigines on the continent 
by the Spaniards and Portuguese. 

Seventh. The rapid extension of the slave-trade and slav- 
er}^ throughout the settled portion of the American continent. 

Eighth. The commercial nations of Europe enter upon the 
slave-trade and supply their American colonies, giving it a 
moral support based on the ancient superstitious notion that 
in capturing the heathen and enslaving them, they were sav- 
ing souls. 

Ninth. The European nations protect the slave-trade and 
slavery by legislation and treaties, and follow it up most vig- 
orously as the foundation of their African and American 
commerce for upward of two and a half centuries. 

In elucidating the second point, that of the culminating 
period of commercial slavery in America, which period may 
be said to run from 1775 to the first of the nineteenth cen- 
tury, the following facts are stated : 

First. The entire American continent, with the West 
India islands, was slave tei-ritory. 

Second. The entire labor or service in all that part of the 
world was performed by negro and Indian slaves. 

Third. All the exports were the products of slave labor. 

Fourth. By royal edicts, legislative enactments and com- 
mon law, the right of man to own property in man was pro- 
tected throughout America in the strongest manner possible. 

Fifth. All the European nations having possessions in 
America, were actively engaged in the slave-trade, and in 
supplying their colonies with slaves. 

Sixth. The moral, legal, territorial, industrial and com- 
mercial status of slavery was complete throughout America. 



267 

Seventh. The number of negro slaves was, in 

1790 3,063,138 

Ditto, Indian slaves, 7,000,000 

Total, slaves, 10,063,138 
Estimated number of free civilized inhabitants 
on the American continent and West India 
Islands in 1790 6,000,000 

Excess of slaves over free inhabitants . . . . 4,563,138 
The third point — the decline of Commercial Slavery in 
America — is represented in the following facts : 

First. Initiatory measures of abolition by Rhode Island 
in 1770 ; by Yirginia in 1778 ; by Pennsylvania in 1780 ; by 
Maryland in 1783 ; by Connecticut in 1784 ; by North Caro- 
lina in 1786 ; by Canada in 1793 ; in all of which slavery 
became gradually extinct, except in Yirginia, Maryland and. 
North Carolina. 

Slavery abolished in Massachusetts in 1783 and in New 
Hampshire in 1792. Slavery prohibited in the Northwest 
Territory by Ordinance of 1787. 

Second. Slave-trade abolished by Denmark in 1803 ; by 
the United States in 1808 ; by England in 1808 ; by Holland 
in 1814 ; by France in 1819 ; by Spain in 1822 ; by Portugal 
in 1823 ; by Brazil, 1850. 

Third. The liberation of the aborigines inhabiting Span- 
ish America and held in slavery, numbering 7,000,000 and 
upward, during the Spanish American revolutions, extend- 
ing from 1810 to 1825. 

Fourth; The abolition of negro slavery by New Grrenada 
and Venezuela in 1823 ; by Gruatemala, comprising the Cen- 
tral American States, in 1824 : by La Plata gradually, com- 
mencing in 1813 ; by Mexico and Yucatan in 1829 ; by Chili 
in 1833. By Peru gradually, commencing in 1821, and be- 
coming extinct in 1855. 

Fifth. The abolition of slavery in the English colonies by 
England in 1834, by which 781,697 slaves were liberated ; the 
abolition of slavery in the French colonies by France in 1848, by 



268 

which 239,937 slaves were liberated ; the abolition of slavery 
in the Danish Colonies by Denmark in 1848 ; the abolition of 
slaver}'- in the Swedish Colonies by Sweden in 1847 ; the 
abolition of slavery in Dutch Guiana by Holland in 1851. 

Sixth. The measures taken by the government of Brazil, 
in accordance with public opinion, to substitute free for slave 
labor, b}^ which slavery is gradually becoming extinct in that 
great empire. 

Seventh. The decline of slavery in the American States of 
Delaware, Maryland, Missouri and in Western Virginia ; the 
settlement of Western Texas by free laborers, and the gene- 
ral decay of the institution throughout the South, as eluci- 
dated by the U. S. census statistics. 

Eighth. The total disappearance of the moral status of 
slavery throughout the civilized world. 

Grand Results. 

The following are the grand results which thus far indi- 
cate the decline of commercial slavery in America : 

Area of the American Continent and West Indian square MUes. 

Islands, all slave territory up to 1183 14,130,208 

Present area of slave territory in America. square Miles. 

Brazil * 2,973,406 

Cuba and Porto Rico 46,258 

Southern States, U. S 875,012 

3,894,676 14,130,208 

3,894,676 

Gain of free UDon slave territory in America since 1T83 . . . 11,235,532 



Slave population in 1790, Negro 3,063,138 

Indian 7,000,000 

Free civilized population in America. 1790 .... 6,000,000 



6,000,000 10,063,138 
6,000,000 



Excess of slave above free civilized population in America, 1790 4,063,138 



269 



Free civilized population in America, 1860, . 


. 


65,000,000 


Slave population in America, 1860 : * 






Southern States, U. S. 


3,999,353 




Brazil 


2,800,000 




Cuba 


330,425 




Porto Rico .... 


50,000 





1,li[9,lt8 65,000,000 
1,179,118 



Excess of free civilized population over slave population in 

America, 1860 51,820,222 

We cannot, at this moment, give with any degree of accu- 
racy the amount of exports from all America during th6 lat- 
ter part of the eighteenth century, when slavery was univer- 
sally prevalent. It is sufficient to know that they were all 
the product of slave labor, a large amount being in the 
precious metals taken from the mines in Spanish America by 
the Indian slaves. 

The amount of exports from America, in 1860, may be stated with accu- 
racy, in round numbers, at $100,000,000 

Of this amount, slave products are : 

Brazil, |50,000,000 

Cuba, 44,000,000 

Porto Rico, . . . . 6,000,000 

Southern States, IJ. S., . . 150,000,000 



$250,000,000 $100,000,000 
250,000,000 



Excess of free over slave labor in articles of export, . . $450,000,000 

This is a gain of nearly two-thirds in free over slave labor, 
within sixty years. 

THE SLAVE-TRADE. 

The extent of the slave-trade, from 1500 to 1850, a period 
of 350 years, we estimate as follows : 



270 



From 
I'rom 
From 
From 
From 
From 
From 
From 



1500 to 
1525 to 
1550 to 
1600 to 
1650 to 
1700 to 
1750 to 
ISOO to 



1525, 
1550, 
1600, 
1650, 
1700, 
1750, 
1800, 
1S50, 



Kumber of negroes Imported Into 




America per annum. 


TotAL 


500 


12,500 




5,000 


125,000 




. 15,000 


750,000 




20,000 


1,000,000 




35,000 


1,750,000 




60,000 


3,000,000 


. 


80,000 


4,000,000 




65,000 


3,250,000 



Total importation of negro slaves into America during a period 

of 350 years 13,887,500 



We put forth this estimate with the remark, that any 
statement of the number of negro slaves imported into Ame- 
rica since its discovery by Columbus, must be based mainly 
on conjecture, guided by such facts as can be gathered in 
history. In the first place, no thorough or complete official 
records of this traffic were kept by the nations engaged in 
it. Their interests in the business required a suppression of 
definite information relative to its prosecution. Those com- 
panies who held the legal monopoly of the trade, invariably 
transcended the prescribed limits, and it is well known that 
outside parties — the contrabandistas — imported far more 
slaves than the legal monopolists. Special privileges — such 
as taking a certain number of negro servants and laborers to 
the Xew World — were also granted to Spanish discoverers, 
conquerors and colonists. In- numerous ways, therefore, the 
number of negro slaves taken to America reached an amount, 
every year, of which the various parties engaged in the trade, 
and the authorities, were entirely unconscious ; and in giving 
in round numbers, say 14,000,000, as the sum total of negro 
slaves imported into America, we are probably below the 
mark rather than above it. 

But now, the onl}^ remaining trade in slaves is with Cuba, 
and the importation cannot exceed 10,000 per annum, and 
in a very few years the trade will probably be entirely ex- 
tinct ; and then, according to our calculation, the progressive 
working of the inexorable laws that regulate capital and 



271 

labor, will peacefully exterminate slavery among the com- 
mercial nations within fiftv vears. 



CONCLUSIOy. 

The foregoing history of the Rise axd Decli>t: of Commer- 
cial Slavery in America has been written within a period 
of time too limited, and in the midst of busine^ occupations 
much at variance with a work of this nature. Consequently, 
we have not been able to give the subject that extensive re- 
search and careful study which its magnitude and importance 
demand. Such facts as are given, however, we believe can 
be fullv relied on as correct. The line of argniment mnnins 
through these facts is another matter. Readers will coin- 
cide or dissent as their judgment or their prejudices dictate. 
TThat is written herein is addressed to the common sense of 
peoples, without regard to the prejudices of party, seet, or 
nation. 

Any discussion of the Missouri Compromise, the Wilmot 
Proviso, the Kansas-Xebraska Act. Lecompton or Anti- 
Lecompton, etc., etc., has been purposely omitted, as they 
are considered outside issues — so many bread pills, in fact, 
administered to the patient who imagined himself sick, and 
having no effect whatsoever on the extension or restriction of 
slavery in this country. 

In writing the history of Commercial Slavery in America, 
the first endeavor has been to exhibit the rise and decline of 
the institution in all the nakedness of truth — ^how it arose, 
in the first place, on the necessity created by crueltv and in- 
justice, and was sustained by the superstitious notion that the 
heathen descendants of Ham were destined to serve the 
Christian descendants of Japhet — and how it declined, and 
is declining, in obedience to the common law of nations and 
of society. * 

The great motive in writing this history has been to ex- 
pose the folly of the postulate set up by the South that sla- 
very can go here and go there, and the acceptance of that 



272 

postulate by the North. This is the false issue upon which 
the Union was dissolved. The Abolitionists created it in the 
first place, and the unprincipled politicians called into exis- 
tence by that class of fanatics have kept it alive for their own 
selfish purposes, and it is still their great political hobby. 

The postulate we set up is, that slavenj has got its limit on 
this continent ; that so long as the slave-trade is kept down, no 
amount of favorable legislation, and a, bounty added thereto, 
can carry slavery into any of the United States territory where 
slavery does not already exist, or into the countries beyond it. 

When we have the great fjict in view, that with all the 
excitement, all the legislation upon the institution, pro and 
con., practical slavery has not gained one foot in acquired 
territory since the purchase of the territory of Louisiana, by 
Mr. Jefferson, in 1803, except a corner of Texas, but, on 
the contrary, has lost a large part of what was originally 
slave territory, it passes our comprehension how an intelli- 
gent people, as the Americans are said to be, can be wrought 
up to the delirious point of self-destruction over a phantom 
issue, by wicked fanatics and unprincipled politicians. But 
such, in our view, is the fact ; and unless the American people 
pause and reflect, unless the public mind educates itself anew, 
and takes an entirely different course of thought and action 
than that which it has been led to adopt for the last thirty 
years, the present generation is lost past all redemption. 

The prospect now is, that this ruinous struggle over a hypo- 
thesis will be carried into Mexico, and the foregoing history 
of slavery in America has been written with special refer- 
ence to the question of extending the institution over the 
neighboring republic, a question now uppermost in the public 
mind, and one which has a direct bearing on the question, 
" /5 Mexican nationality destined to he extinguished V^ a sub- 
ject opened in Mexican Papers, No. 4, and which we desire 
may be considered as continued in this publication. 

The public mind in the North is kept in a feverish state of 
excitement, by announcements, through the press, that the 
South is devising ways and means to establish slavery in New 



273 

Mexico, Arizona, Southern California, Lower California, 
Sonora, Chihuahua, Tamaulipas, all of Mexico, Central 
America, etc., etc. The entire press of this country is ab- 
sorbed in the discussion of the subject of slavery extension 
by the Southern Confederacy. By reason of the marvellous 
ignorance of the North relative to the South, the countries 
adjoining, and the question of slavery generally, the public 
mind here is made to run in this channel, without let or 
hindrance. 

With the wretched Kansas struggle fresh in the mind, it 
appears impossible that a people not utterly demoralized, 
morally and politically, should suffer themselves to be led 
into the support of the continuance of that struggle on a 
more extended field. 

Kansas belongs for the most part to that barren slope of 
the Rocky Mountains east, which extends far down into 
Mexico, and in climate, soil, etc., comes within what may be 
termed the range of eccentrics. A fruitful season in the 
limited arable sections is more the exception than the 
general rule. 

Here, when the hand of Providence had written in charac- 
ters too plain to be misunderstood, '' slavery shall not come, ^'' 
the South, stimulated to audacity by abolition, attempted, in 
the intensity of political fanaticism and selfishness, to establish . 
the peculiar institution. The North, with equal political 
fanaticism and selfishness, strongly impregnated with religious 
fanaticism, took up the gauntlet thrown down by the South, 
and thus the two political parties, ignoring the laws of nature 
— of God — enter upon a contest, which history must portray as 
one of the most disgraceful that can be found in the annals 
of civilized nations. 

A horde of border ruffians from the South, of that lawless 
class usually found on every frontier, and owning few or no 
slaves, are the Kansas pioneers of the slavery propagandists. 
They are met by the same class of border ruffians from the 
North, the emissaries of abolition, with the addition of a 
very worthy class of eastern emigrants, fitted out and induced 



274 

to emigrate to Kansas under the auspices of Emigrant Aid 
Societies, by holders of corner lots, and Kansas land speculators 
generally, in the East. These are the parties, and these the 
elements that made up the Kansas strife, the motive of which 
on the part of the originators on either side, had nothing to 
do with any principle of justice, humanity or philanthropy. 

All the favorable legislation in the world, with a bounty of 
fifty dollars per head on every slave taken to Kansas, would 
not have established practical slavery in that territory. And 
3^et, Kansas is the Abolition Mecca. " I am on a pilgrimage 
to Kansas whei;e the battle of freedom was fought and won ; 
I must see Kansas before I die !" said the great demagogue 
of the day, on his stumping tour in the West, just before the 
election. 

What hope is there for a country that gives itself up to 
such stupid, canting demagogism as this ? We have none. 

Freedom or slavery had no more to do with the contest in 
Kansas, than republicanism or monarchy had to do with the 
contest between Heenan and Sayers. There was a great 
deal more to commend in the Farnborough than in the 
Kansas fight, and the abolitionists would appear to better 
advantage consecrating the sod of the Farnborough ring 
to plug-uglyism with their crocodile tears, than canting 
about the battle of freedom having been fought and won in 
Kansas. 

But it appears almost certain that this ruinous Kansas 
struggle over a miserable abstraction will be carried into 
other lands, to the hazard of creating complications which 
must end in terrible wars, and a reconstruction of the entire 
map of America. 

We believe that those who have perused the previous 
numbers of the Mexican Papers, and who feel interest 
enough in the subject to examine the present number, will 
be able to fully comprehend its politics and its policy. We 
know of no existing political party in the country to which 
the publication can be said to belong } and we know of no 



275 

political journal from Maine to California, that can, con- 
sistently with its partisanship, give favorable publicity to our 
facts and arguments. They ignore our postulate that slavery 
is on the decline, past all human power of resuscitation, and 
either laud the institution as one of divine origin, just and 
beneficent, or they sustain the abolition party now in power, 
which would, if it could get the means, carry fire and sword 
to every hearth-stone in the South, in the accomplishment of 
its fanatical purposes. 

Our political position, we acknowledge, is sui generis, and 
we have no expectation that the sentiments of this publica- 
tion will meet with much favor at the present moment. 
Years hence, when this ruinous struggle has done its perfect 
work, there may be those who will duly appreciate the fana- 
tical folly of the past. 

At the last Presidential election, we sympathized with the 
smallest party in the struggle, that ridiculed by the abo- 
litionists as the "old woman's party" — the Bell-Everett 
party. We sympathized with everything opposed to the 
Kepublican candidate, believing his election would prove 
exactly what it has proved — the death-knell of the Union ! 
We desired most ardently that another four years might pass 
without an abolition success, believing such a flood of light 
would be thrown upon the subject by new developments in 
our own and in the surrounding countries, as to ward off the 
ruinous issue forever. 

We regarded the McLane-Ocampo (Mexican) treaty as the 
basis of the most important of these developments. So 
thought the fire-eating and abolition politicians, and they 
trampled it beneath their feet in the Senate of the United 
States. Senators Hammond and Wigfall were conspicuous 
in this matter. Senator William H. Seward, now Secretary 
of State, opposed this treaty with great bitterness, both 
openly and secretly. Senator Hannibal Hamlin, now Yice- 
President of the United States, declared : " My rigJit arm 
shall he cut off inch by inch, before I will vote for that Mexican 
Treaty:' 



276 

Had that Mexican treat}' been ratified and put in imme- 
diate operation, some of the most dangerous complications 
which now threaten us, never could have arisen. 

But Providence decreed that the present issue should 
come, and every true-hearted American must accept the 
result in deep and bitter sorrow. 

TVe contend that there is no greater indication that society 
has advanced, than the ground now maintained by the 
civilized world, in relation to the question of human slavery. 
The morvil support it derived from an ancient superstition 
has disappeared, and this, with the economical working of 
natural causes, is letting the institution down by the run. 
That Silent Revolution, based on the steam engine, the 
electric telegraph, in short, the application of science to 
mechanics, is doing more than all other causes combined to 
overthrow those degrading superstitions that have enthralled 
the world so Ion 2^. 

Taking this view of the matter, we contend that the 
American Union has been broken up on the assumption, by 
the two great political parties, that nature can be made to 
turn back upon herself — that Grod can be forced to retrace 
his footsteps by human kgidatmi; and on this assumption the 
countr}' is going to ruin with fearful velocity. 

The Republican party came into power on this assumption, 
consequently, it cannot stand up to any principle of its plat- 
form, and has no moral force. The Republican adminis- 
tration does not appear to have sufficient common sense to 
judiciously wield any moral power, even could they com- 
mand it. We have no faith that those who have, so reck- 
lessly run the ship of State upon the breakers, will ever 
bring her to safe moorings, and the total failure of the pre- 
sent administration in Washington, is a foregone conclusion. 
If their bungling statesmanship does not induce anarchy 
that will drive them from their seats before their legal term 
of office has expired, they may consider themselves exceed- 
ingly fortunate. 

The Southern Confederacy came into existence on the 



277 

same assumption as that of the Republican party, and as a 
confederacy based on slavery, we have no confidence in its 
ultimate success. But for the time being, it has advantages 
over the North ; first, it derives a moral power from the 
revolutionary right given it by abolition. It also derives an 
additional advantage from greater unity and energy of action, 
and superior statesmanship. The great commercial nations 
of Europe, in consideration of their material interests, will 
be forced, not only to recognize the independence of the 
Southern Confederacy, but they must support that confederacy 
by force of arms against northern abolition. Though this 
may not prevent war and anarchy, it will serve the purpose 
of the South, for the. moment, in establishing a political exist- 
ence ; and in due time, if peace prevails, a sensible regard for 
their material interests, will doubtless induce them to pro- 
vide for the decent and peaceful death and burial of slavery. 

We do not believe such statesmen as Davis, Toombs, 
Stephens, Iverson, and others in the South, have any 
faith in the permanency of a government or society based on 
slavery, notwithstanding their bold assumptions to the con- 
trary at this moment. Their intention is, doubtless, to get 
beyond the reach of abolition dictation, and then provide for 
emancipation in a safe and wise manner. 

Is'otwithstanding the recent speech of the Hon. A. H. Ste- 
phens, lauding his new government above all others, because 
it is based on slavery, we do Mr. Stephens the credit to be- 
lieve that he hates the institution most cordially. If there is 
a genuine hatred of slavery anywhere, it is in the South. 
There they curse the institution from the bottom of their 
hearts ; but one of the effects of Northern abolition has been 
to turn this hatred of slavery into the determination to sus- 
tain it at all hazards, right or wrong. Northern abolition 
has closed the Southern mind, and shut out all calm and 
judicious contemplation of the subject, and we believe the 
South will sink negroes, cotton, lands, and country, before 
submitting to the dictation of such characters as GtARRISON, 
Phillips, the Tappans, Fred. Douglass, Giddings, Greeley, 



278 

Lincoln, Seward, and a host of lesser lights in the black army 
of abolition. Our knowledge of the spirit that animates these 
parties, and our appreciation of the luxury of independence, 
causes us to sympathize, heart and soul, with the South on 
this point. 

There are, doubtless, some in South Carolina who believe 
heaven is based on slavery ; nevertheless, we venture to assert 
it as our belief, that in the ordinary course of events. South 
Carolina will be the first State of the present Southern Con- 
federacy to initiate measures of emancipation. 

But whatever may be the relative condition and position 
of the two confederacies as they now stand, it is useless to 
deny that the condition of affairs in both sections is in the 
highest degree perilous. It appears to us that the American 
people do not comprehend the magnitude of the revolution 
that is progressing with such tremendous strides. This revo- 
lution struck us at a moment when the country was saturated, 
so to speak, with money and produce — in the very highth 
of our material prosperity. But the process of draining has 
already commenced, and in small and unseen rills, the 
national wealth is beginning to trickle away. Another 
year may bring pinching want where plenty now abounds. 
Our prestige, as a power on earth, is gone, and henceforth 
Americans will go abroad among the nations, hanging their 
heads with shame, and e:jfposed to insult and scorn. 

There is a moral anarchy now prevailing among us that is 
the sure forerunner of the clash of arms. Complications of 
vast import are coming up out of the dark future, and mon- 
ster phantoms are hovering about, pointing to the fleets of 
every commercial nation in Europe in our southern waters 
and the Gulf of Mexico, and their armies on Mexican terri- 
tory, where we shall all be involved in the fierce struggle of 
nationalities, unless the fratricidal strife now raging in the 
United States is at once brought to an end. 

But at the present moment this seems scarcely possible. 
Abolitionism has divided us not only politically, but it has 
cleft the great American heart in twain. Whether it can 



279 

ever be reunited, God only knows. Not until abolitionism 
is put down, shall we have the slightest hope that anything of 
the kind can be accomplished. Not until the disorganizers 
of society, known as abolitionists, agrarians, free-lovers, 
socialists, etc., etc., with all their isms, hatched out by the 
pestilential heat of licentious liberty in this republic, are 
squelched, shall we have any faith that fraternity, peace, and 
prosperity -can be restored to our unhappy country. 

We rest in the hope that a great white Republican party— 
a party purified of the negro and his pestiferous surround- 
ings, and devoted to the great and common interests of our 
great and common country, will rise up and capture it from 
the political harpies who are now revelling in its life-blood. 

In our general remarks upon the Republican party, we are 
not unmindful of the fact that a large portion utterly repudiate 
abolition, and voted the Republican ticket in all sincerity and 
good faith to the country, entirely unconscious of the mischief 
their leaders were perpetrating. There are also prominent 
individuals in this party whom we know and respect, and 
whose friendship we cherish ; but who, from some unfortu- 
nate combination of circumstances, have been induced to 
pursue a course in politics which we feel confident they will 
regret in the future. 

To all such, we would not say one word to irritate or offend, 
and we trust they will so understand it. 

But there are leaders in this party — those who have 
crawled to power by dark and devious ways, subverting 
patriotism, and striking dowii by stealth every noble object 
that stood between them and their wicked designs, and whose 
greatness and power are derived only from their country's 
Puin — for whom we have no soft or palliative words. They 
have robbed us of our honest pride, as an American citizen, 
and for this alone, we deem it an imperative duty to do all 
that lies in our power to send their names down to posterity in 
unutterable infamy. 



i.x^ y 



This number of the Mexican Papeks completes the First Series. 
The entire set of five numbers can be obtained at Kudd & Cakleton's, 
ISTo. 130 Grand street. Price $1.00 for the set. 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 




